Top Execs Discuss the Opportunities for Fresh Formats

With budget restrictions, fragmented audiences, declining linear viewership and a host of other challenges, the TV market can be a tough place for buyers and sellers right now. But “formats offer something invaluable in today’s unpredictable landscape: security and scale,” says Rose Hughes, senior VP of format sales at BBC Studios. Formats “come with global expertise, brand recognition and a set of tried-and-tested beats that reduce risk. Every broadcaster is facing the same challenges, and formats provide a roadmap through those pain points.”

“We’ve never been in a time when risk wasn’t a factor in content decisions,” notes ITV Studios alum Pascal Dalton, founder of Shimmer Media. “The reality is that the nature of the risk is what has changed. Commissioners are under immense pressure due to several market complexities.”

“Caution certainly stems from the current global economic situation,” he continues. “The accelerating consolidation—the bigger deals across studios and broadcasters—can naturally put a temporary pause on major commissioning decisions. This flux, combined with global geopolitical situations, contributes to the overall difficulty, and, perhaps, to increased production costs. I wouldn’t necessarily label buyers as simply ‘risk-averse’ but rather ‘cautionary’ and highly focused on de-risking their investments.”

While known IP has immense power in today’s market, providing safe, proven shows, it is still possible for newer formats to break through. It just takes a little creativity.

“The challenge lies in the inherent paradox of the market: commissioners need new content, but it’s much easier for them to de-risk a commission by acquiring a format that has already traveled to 15 countries versus betting on a completely new idea,” Dalton says. “However, the industry is finding ways to support these incredibly good new ideas. One is risk sharing. We are seeing more creative deals in which the risk is shared more equally between the producer and the broadcasters. The commissioning component has become more complex, but this partnership approach helps inventive new formats get a foothold.”

Dori Media Group has crafted a method doing just that: “We now offer 10 percent of the IP to the initial producers we work with,” explains Nadav Palti, CEO and founder. “We say, ‘If this format is a worldwide success, you will get 10 percent of what we sell around the world.’ So, the one that will be the first to air the format, taking the risk, will get the IP.”

Izzet Pinto, CEO of Global Agency, adds, “It’s all about one country picking up the paper format. If it’s a success, then it travels the world. We have always believed in paper formats and will continue believing in ideas, because everything starts with an idea. When you look at the big formats today, [they all started] as an idea, then someone believed in it and either shot a pilot or commissioned it. People forget that everything starts as paper.”

In order to find success with a fresh format, you must not be afraid to represent ideas that have not been seen on-screen before or those that address shocking topics, says Nick Tanner, director of sales and co-productions at Passion Distribution.

“One of our current shows that best represents this is a format called Virgin Island,” Tanner says. “Its premise is to explore the increase in young people who have intimacy issues. The approach of the show is to address the phenomenon head-on by putting the cast through a course of controversial therapeutic techniques. Our formats and series are always vibrant and eye-catching while delivering on quality. There should be substance and a point of difference.”

Virgin Island was renewed for a second season by Channel 4 after it smashed streaming records for the company, becoming its biggest new unscripted series to launch for 16- to 34-year-olds.

“What gives me great comfort and encouragement is the success of genuinely new IP that is cutting through,” Dalton says. “Seeing these new shows [find success and] travel validates the appetite for fresh, inventive content.”

It is important to not be afraid to take a chance on something. At Global Agency, each new idea is voted on by Pinto, the company’s head of acquisitions and six sales team members. “When six out of eight people believe in a project, I think it has a chance,” Pinto says. “Then we take on representation of the format and do our best to license it around the world.”

He offers as an example Shopping Monsters, in which five women go shopping with a budget and score each other. “It’s a very fun format,” he says. “However, when I first watched it, I didn’t like it at all. But, I thought, ‘We have a democratic team, so I should ask them.’ The majority of the team loved it! So, we took on representation, and it has been our best-selling format ever: in Germany, 3,000 episodes; in France, 2,000 episodes. That’s how we do it.”

Offering support for buyers after they have commissioned a format is imperative. Sabrina Duguet, executive VP for the Asia-Pacific region at All3Media International, notes, “I’ve always said to my team: How can we bring more value to the client at a time when everybody—producers, broadcasters, platforms—is facing challenges? Our duty is not just to bring a good idea, but to support them through the [adaptation] process with knowledge about the type of marketing, funding, sponsors and collaborations that have taken place in other countries.

“We also help during production,” she continues. “Take The Traitors and the 35-plus versions we’ve worked on; that comes with a huge amount of knowledge: the creative, the execution of the production, the editing, the marketing and the licensing. We don’t just bring a show; we bring a brand.”

BBC Studios’ Hughes concurs: “For us, selling a format is just the beginning of the relationship. We’re deeply committed to helping partners make the best possible version of a show for their audience. That means dedicated commercial teams to craft brand partnerships and live-event strategies, and flying producers who provide hands-on and remote support for everything from editorial decisions to production challenges. We host creative exchanges for our biggest brands where ideas and challenges are shared across our networks. Our teams know these brands inside out and care passionately about their success.”

It is the same at Passion Distribution. “Every format receives bespoke attention tailored to individual markets, and we don’t have a ‘back catalog’ of formats, so to speak; all IP is valuable,” Tanner says.

Ultimately, “the future success of the format market hinges on finding new mechanisms, perhaps involving more deals to appropriately share the risk, which will secure and support the next generation of inventive content that will truly attract audiences,” Shimmer Media’s Dalton adds.

And perhaps the most important part of the entire process is remaining (or rather, trying to remain) flexible and positive. “You can’t get anywhere with negativity,” Pinto says. “You have to deliver your best, and then if it doesn’t work, you have to say, ‘OK, next.’ Don’t cry about it. Just do your best. If it doesn’t work, keep on creating. That’s what we always do. I love my job. I feel so lucky that I am in the entertainment business. There is no other business in the world that is more exciting than this!”