MIPCOM: The Week in Formats

From Fremantle’s grand piano outside the Palais that played host to a surprising array of musically talented media executives to BBC Studios’ buzzy live demo of its hit game show The 1% Club, format IP owners were eager to make a splash with compelling new propositions as broadcasters and platforms seek more cost-effective ways to make an impact with local audiences.

And those two aforementioned properties did indeed see a wave of traction last week in Cannes. BBC Studios announced a deal with Prime Video in the U.S. and Canada for The 1% Club, which Lauren Anderson, the head of AVOD original content and unscripted programming at Amazon MGM Studios, referred to as a “fun and distinctive play-at-home game-show format where the questions aren’t a test of general knowledge but an opportunity to showcase logic, brainpower and common sense. Contestants of all generations and skill sets have a genuine chance to win—or, at least, brag to their friends.” This followed news that the show is headed to Turkey via Acun Medya.

Fremantle, meanwhile, unveiled two new deals for the musical reality format The Piano, with RTL 4 in the Netherlands and TV 2 in Denmark. The entertainment formats giant also announced at MIPCOM that it was taking on the rights to the comedy format Thank God You’re Here, which has returned from a 14-year hiatus. Chris O’Dell, head of global entertainment production at Fremantle, noted: “Back in 2006, it quickly became the world’s highest-selling comedy entertainment format, and now it’s back and funnier than ever, which is a testament to the skillful team at Working Dog Productions. We can’t wait to see who opens the iconic blue door next.”

While reboots remain key to the formats landscape, championing new ideas is still paramount. Banijay used MIPCOM to unveil a new global accelerator program to support female creators with unscripted formats. Banijay Launch is geared toward discovering and incubating untapped talent to support the next generation of global franchise-makers. It will provide selected women with mentorship by Banijay’s global collective of creatives to aid them in developing new formats from concept to pitch to sale. Marco Bassetti, CEO of Banijay, noted, “With Banijay Launch, we are vested in spearheading a raft of new unscripted format ideas ideated by women, and in doing so, we hope to bring new voices and talent to the market with the potential of creating the next Survivor, MasterChef or Big Brother.”

Also on the hunt for new ideas, Media Ranch and Abhishek Rege’s Crazy Maverick Films agreed to co-develop, co-own and distribute a slate of paper formats.

Meanwhile, in a crowded landscape, having formats that can deliver some celebrity buzz certainly helps. FOX Alternative Entertainment (FAE) closed deals for two of its celebrity formats, Beat My Mini-Mes and Celebrity Masterpiece. Beat My Mini-Mes has been licensed by Spain’s Antena 3, and ITV Studios’ Armoza Formats has optioned the format for development in Israel. In the case of Celebrity Masterpiece, ITV Studios’ Multistory Media will develop the format in the U.K., while Satisfaction will develop an adaptation for France. “An important component of our unscripted strategy is to identify and launch unforgettable formats that have universal appeal and can seamlessly travel to multiple territories,” said Allison Wallach, president of unscripted programming at FOX Entertainment. “The early success of Celebrity Masterpiece in Thailand and strong interest in Beat My Mini-Mes generating even before its premiere are great indications of the power these two energetic formats hold.”

Also on the celebrity format front, Amuz Distribution secured a format license deal for the entertainment series In Lieu of Flowers with We Make Productions for France and Belgium.

Korean formats continue to make headlines, with last week seeing Something Special ink a deal with Germany’s MoveMe for the mystery-reality competition Still Alive.

Partnerships also emerged as a key theme in the formats space, with a co-development pact between BBC Studios and Nippon TV for the comedy game-show format Koso Koso; Channel 4 co-commissioning Made in Bondi (w.t.), a new version of the award-winning reality series Made in Chelsea, with Australian broadcaster Seven Network; and the Israeli-based global studio SIPUR and Ukraine’s Heroes Formats aligning for the new cooking competition series SUPERmarketCHEF.

Amid continued challenges in the scripted space, producers, broadcasters and platforms are seeking easier ways to bring local dramas and comedies to the screen, and formats are certainly one way to do that. All3Media International continues to see significant traction on its scripted formats slate, announcing a deal with Banijay Asia for local versions of the hit crime drama Rellik. Nippon TV signed a deal with the Turkish producer Medyapım for the scripted formats Mother and Woman – My Life for My Children –, which will be localized in Arabic for MBC. The Japanese media company also secured a deal for its award-winning drama series Homeroom to be localized in Thailand in partnership with Juvenile (JUVE9). And Amuz Distribution made a format license deal with Tucker Tooley Entertainment for a U.S. adaptation of The Boys.

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