Game On

Kristin Brzoznowski explores the demand for game shows and where the genre is headed next.

Often referred to as TV’s “comfort food,” game shows have been serving the demands of pandemic-era television particularly well—from doling out familiar flavors that audiences can’t get enough of to delivering hearty yet budget-friendly programming that broadcasters are craving.

“Game shows have always had and will always have a solid place in the television market,” says Avi Armoza, founder and CEO of Armoza Formats. “They answer very concrete needs for audience engagement, knowledge and family viewing. It’s a [trend] that comes and goes, but during the coronavirus pandemic, it increased in demand from two perspectives: the need for family viewing and entertaining shows and for doing something cost-effective, where you can get into the studio and shoot four or five episodes in one day.”

Armoza adds that broadcasters are after two distinct types of game shows—at opposite ends of the spectrum. “One trend is for existing, proven shows. But at the same time, there is an appetite to bring something new, big and loud,” he notes.

“Everyone loves game shows,” agrees Sophie Ferron, founder and CEO of Media Ranch. “They are still in demand, though it’s getting harder for formats to stand out and differentiate. Big, broad, slapstick game shows seem to be less in demand, but we’re watching closely to see how it evolves and also to be part of its evolution.”

She says that playability and home-audience engagement are still key. “You want to feel like you can participate and that the premise is simple…. What is different today is the focus on storytelling, talent and quirkiness that bridges traditional game shows with contemporary competition shows.”

While there is still plenty of interest in the question-and-answer format of traditional quizzes, the marketplace has also burst outside the box. Japan, for one, has been a notable supplier of convention-breaking game-show propositions. “Buyers always ask, ‘Do you have any crazy formats that I haven’t seen anywhere else?,’” says Chihiro Shizawa, sales and licensing at Nippon TV, noting interest in Asian-inspired ideas from the European and North American markets.

“We are creating programs with concepts that overturn conventional ideas in a positive sense or with innovative concepts created by combining traditional genres,” she adds. “Mute it!, where the rules are to complete a mission without making more than 50 decibels of noise, is a good example of a new idea that breaks away from the traditional stereotype of game shows as being loud and noisy. Money or Junk, which was announced last year, is innovative in that it combines the popular genre of business shows with the new elements of digital and craft.”

Nippon TV is introducing two new game-show formats at MIPTV: Dark Doubt, an escape game with a horror twist, and Turbo Brain, a rapid-fire battle of the brains.

Japan’s Fuji Television Network is bringing to the marketplace $$$ Mansion, which combines the escape-game concept with online challenges. Ryuji Komiya, head of formats, notes that the genre has increasingly moved away from the studio constraints of its past. “For example, our popular game shows such as Run for Money, Water Fortress and $$$ Mansion were filmed in an existing environment and added stories to the game to make the rules more exciting.”

Breaking out of the conventional game-show set is just one of the ways that formats are adapting to the times. “Today’s popular game shows feature a strong digital component that generates buzz through audience interactivity,” says Haikal Jamari, sales manager for Asia and the Middle East at Dori Media Group. “From polls and tweets on social media to ancillary mobile games, there is a myriad of off-air promotional activities for viewers to engage with while they wait for the next episode or season.”

Dori Media has seen traction on The Selfie Challenge and Win the Crowd, created by Studio Glam. Arabic versions of the two formats have been commissioned by Abu Dhabi Media for Abu Dhabi TV and the ADtv app in the MENA region. “Both formats have a strong youth focus, with social media and audience interactivity at their core,” Jamari says.

LET’S TALK TECH
Armoza Formats has stepped up its efforts to find new ways of telling stories and answering the needs of clients by offering an innovative technology proposition. In Family Piggy Bank, the gameplay brings the atmosphere and feel of a Friday night family dinner into the studio. “You can shoot it in an empty studio wherever they are, and we provide the format and the CGI set,” Armoza explains. “It’s not only selling the format bible, but we are also providing them with a link to a complete set that has an amazing, big, prime-time shiny-floor look and feel. It is cost-effective because you don’t need to invest in building a big set.
“At Armoza Formats, we have game shows that have proven successful: Still Standing has been very long-running, and Who’s Asking? is a solid, successful game show,” he continues. “At the same time, we want to bring the future of game shows to answer the needs of broadcasters that want a different look and feel, and to bring something new to the screen.”

There’s also a mix of successful game shows alongside brand-new and innovative formats at Media Ranch. The company is bringing back the shiny-floor studio-based dating game show Blind Dating, which was a hit in French Canada. Media Ranch is also in development on a game show with Ubisoft and Wheelhouse Entertainment called House Party: Just Dance, which is the official format connected to the hit game Just Dance. Watch!, which was produced at the height of the pandemic in Germany, will see a second life soon. Media Ranch also has game shows from its Horsepower incubator, such as Tower of Babel.

Game shows are making their way into prime-time, access and daytime slots. Looking beyond traditional time slots, the question remains of how viable game shows can be in an on-demand environment. “There is a professional challenge on all of us to see how the world of game shows will be within the streaming environment,” Armoza says. “At the same time, because linear broadcasters need to be more efficient and cost-effective, game shows will continue to have an important place in access prime time and prime time in a broadcast schedule.”

With regard to content trends, Media Ranch’s Ferron believes that celebrity casting will continue to be a draw. “North American audiences also love to see regular people win big,” she adds. “The greatest opportunities, regardless of format and platform, will be from game shows that are not just about answering questions but about talent and social experiments.”

The flexible nature of game shows also bodes well for their continued success in the marketplace. “The power of game-show formats has no limits,” says Nippon TV’s Shizawa. “Even though our original ideas are based on our 30-, 60-, 120-minute-plus slots featuring hilarious Japanese celebrities, it can be adjusted to fit different needs, providing endless opportunities for both sides. For example, our hour-long Sokkuri Sweetsformat became the bite-sized series Eye Candy, streaming on The Roku Channel, as well as a mega-version series in prime time in the Netherlands as Showcolade. Mute it! also became a mega-version series in prime time in the Netherlands as Stilte AUB! (Silence Please!).”

As Covid-19-related restrictions continue to ease and productions have successfully implemented new health and safety standards to address concerns around a changing cast of contestants and live audiences, the future for game-show formats is looking bright. “With production safety protocols firmly in place, crowd control is less of an issue now than it was over the past two years,” says Dori Media’s Jamari. “The reduced uncertainty helps both sponsors and broadcasters commit, which helps fuel the genre’s demand from a commercial perspective.

“From an audience perspective, game shows have always provided easy comfort viewing,” Jamari adds. “Game shows are also typically associated with being a cost-effective genre to commission. These factors propel game shows to becoming a staple in the entertainment consumption habits of viewers and, in turn, the slates of broadcasters and platforms.”