MIPCOM: The Week in Formats

It was a buoyant week for many of those in the format business at MIPCOM, as unscripted entertainment had its time to shine, basking in the glow of the buzz generated in TV markets around the world by The Masked Singer.

Looking to China in a quest for the next big thing, Endemol Shine tied up with Hunan TV in a co-development partnership for Sing or Spin, a brand-new prime-time entertainment format. Indeed, co-dev pacts like this have become increasingly common, as companies are partnering up to share their creative resources, and the risk, for new concepts. Keshet International and the pan-African broadcaster M-Net are joining forces to co-produce a brand-new dating format, The Big Five. Nippon TV and Red Arrow Studios previously partnered to co-develop the game-show format Block Out, which at this market landed local versions in two territories.

Game shows were, of course, among the genres in high demand at MIPCOM, as they tend to be in times of economic uncertainty. They have been particularly popular in the U.S. as of late, and ABC has just ordered yet another: The Hustler, produced by the all3media-backed production company Studio Lambert.

Dating was also a hot pick, with Fremantle clinching its first commissions for Label 1’s Five Guys a Week, in addition to scoring a Danish deal for Naked Television’s Secret Admirer.

In the always-buzzy talent genre, there were some new entrants in the mix. ABS-CBN in the Philippines aligned with Fritz Productions for the original talent reality series Your Moment, which features both singing and dancing competitions in one show and crowns two champions. Armoza Formats’ Dance Revolution, which puts a spin on the dance genre with its use of 360-degree technology, furthered its already-successful rollout with a new commission in Russia. Another established hit in the talent arena, Endemol Shine’s All Together Now, continued to travel, landing in its 14th market to date. Endemol Shine celebrated the 20th anniversary of its stalwart hit Big Brother at MIPCOM, unveiling yet another comeback for the format: the show will be returning to screens in Greece after a ten-year hiatus (this is the latest in a string of markets where the format has returned after a period of rest).

Social experiments also saw some traction in the marketplace, with Armoza’s Sex Tape licensed in Germany and The Story Lab’s You Are Not a Loan optioned in two territories. Elsewhere in the entertainment arena, Guinness World Records inked an option deal with Banijay Group for its prime-time family format. Vivendi Entertainment’s new prime-time entertainment show Celebrity Song Challenge landed a pair of options, in Germany and Italy.

While unscripted formats did prove their might at MIPCOM, the appetite for scripted adaptations was evident as well. BBC Studios’ drama Doctor Foster is being remade in India, for example. all3media international secured the first scripted-format adaptation for the Australian comedic drama Diary of an Uber Driver, with the new German platform Joyn ordering a local version. Nippon TV signed its fifth deal with Turkish producer MF Yapim to adapt another of its hit Japanese drama series in Turkey. Abandoned will follow in the footsteps of such hits as Mother and Woman -My Life for My Children- with a Turkish remake.

With an eye on “what’s next” for fresh ideas in the format market, Media Ranch launched another installment of its format incubator initiative Horsepower, teaming up again with season one partner Quebecor Content. Hunan TV is also continuing with its Biu Project, an initiative set up to create a pipeline of pilots for the Chinese broadcaster (last year, the initiative created more than 500 hours of original non-scripted content).

So, was there another Masked Singer amid the crop of formats launched last week in Cannes? Time will tell…

Catch up on these stories and more on TVFormats.ws.