MIPCOM: The Week in Formats

TV Formats recaps the biggest formats news to come out of MIPCOM last week.

Scripted and docs dominated the deal news out of MIPCOM, but there were plenty of signs that the format business is back in growth mode following a tough few years amid the pandemic. Gordon Ramsay brought some non-scripted entertainment star power to the market with his appearance at a FOX Entertainment event, reflecting how important the Studio Ramsay Global joint venture is to the company as it positions itself as a major player in the global market. It was revealed at the market that Ramsay’s worldwide production venture created with FOX Entertainment is working with Kitchen Factory Productions, chef Cyril Lignac and producer Matthieu Jean-Toscani on a French treatment ofNext Level Chef.

“When we launched the first-ever series of Next Level Chef in the U.S. at the beginning of this year, the goal was for other broadcasters and international territories to recognize the truly original and epic format,” Ramsay said. “Following the U.S., the U.K. came on board, and now I’m delighted Kitchen Factory Productions sees the potential in bringing this fantastic format to the French screen. Next Level Chef truly is next-level everything, and I’m looking forward to seeing the fantastic Chef Cyril discover his own Next Level superstars.”

ITV Studios, meanwhile, announced that it had notched up ten commissions on its reality dating format My Mum, Your Dad, with new agreements in the U.K., Sweden and Australia. Following the acquisition of international rights of the HBO Max show via ITV America and the Global Creative Network, ITV Studios labels secured first-season orders from ITV in the U.K., TV4 in Sweden and Nine Network in Australia. Six more territories—which will be announced by the commissioning broadcasters and platforms soon—bring the total number of commissions for the format to ten.

Banijay was in town with its extensive formats slate, including the new addition The Hotel, an Argentinean reality competition series produced by Diego Guebel’s BOXFISH for Canal 13. Lucas Green, global head of content operations at Banijay, said, “The Hotel is a colorful reality show featuring challenges with real jeopardy for celebrity contestants, keeping everyone on the edge of their seats. This series demonstrates the incredible breadth of Banijay’s multi-genre catalog of more than 135,000 hours.”

A+E Networks Global Content Sales landed a raft of deals from its growing formats slate, including Channel 4 signing up for a local adaptation of Alone. Additionally, A+E Networks is working with RaiPlay and Yam112003 to bring the first non-English-language version of The Rap Game to Italy early in 2023. Forged in Fire has been renewed for a fifth season in Latin America and Top Dog has landed a second season on RTL in Germany.

Japan’s Nippon TV and Turkey’s Sera Film unveiled their first co-developed project: Baby Shower. Sayako Aoki, sales and licensing, international business development, at Nippon TV, said, “We have started this partnership with Sera Film hoping to combine Turkish storytelling with the creativity of Japanese fun and crazy game shows in order to produce a never-seen-before format that is relevant to any viewer across the world. This is exactly what we have done with Baby Shower.”

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