Passion Distribution’s Nick Tanner on Distinctive Formats

With audiences as fragmented as they are today, having unique, talked-about shows certainly helps capture their attention. Passion Distribution has always aimed to offer unscripted shows and formats that it hopes viewers will quickly consider unmissable. Nick Tanner, the director of sales and co-productions, tells TV Formats about the company’s penchant for distinctive programming, its strategy for helping buyers adapt formats to their markets and its approach to creating content for all outlets and screens.

TV FORMATS: A lot of the titles in your catalog are standout shows. Do they help capture the attention of buyers and viewers?
TANNER: They certainly do. Passion’s strategy is always to be thought-provoking and do things slightly differently. Passion’s offering has broad appeal, but at the same time, we are not afraid to represent ideas that haven’t been seen before or address issues that are taboo or perhaps shocking.

One of our current shows that best represents this is a format called Virgin Island. 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 therapy that utilizes 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.

TV FORMATS: So, your formats business is doing well?
TANNER: Absolutely. We are a well-known formats house and a genuine alternative to working with some of the bigger studios. By virtue of being a smaller operation, we really husband and look after ideas that either come from our group of companies or from third-party producers or creators. 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. Our formats business is an important tentpole, a big area of focus and a differentiating factor.

TV FORMATS: Besides the idea of the format, the benefit for whoever acquires it is that it’s a known entity that has worked somewhere else.
TANNER: Yes, buyers ideally want fantastic ideas that have a track record. The skill is being able to recognize IP that can be localized across cultures and languages, and then have the experience and expertise to attach the right partners. Formats often have to be adapted to local cultures and viewer expectations to become a laser-engineered fit for the platform and target audience.

TV FORMATS: Does Passion remain involved in the production as an advisor?
TANNER: It is a bespoke situation for each project—we represent the idea for the creator and oversee the project to ensure the format is properly executed to help give each version the best chance of success. We’re experts in our formats, so Passion often acts as the flying producer, too. We often involve the original creators for editorial and production details that only they can bring. It’s about adding value to the IP, expanding it and passing that on to our broadcast partners.

TV FORMATS: What are some of your new formats?
TANNER: I mentioned Virgin Island for Channel 4. It’s quite edgy, but this is a social experiment about addressing the growing phenomenon of young people’s issues with intimacy—and why that might be. It has been a huge breakout success for Channel 4, smashing the network’s streaming records and setting social media alight. We’re just locking down the first international versions, which we will announce in due course.

We have two more new formats, both from our relationship with German producer RTL Studios. The first is a celebrity-led reality show crossed with survival challenges called #CoupleChallenge. It has run for four seasons in Germany, with a fifth on the way. And we have World of Wonders, which is a family-friendly, shiny-floor quiz show about the wonders of the world we live in. These are very successful shows in their home market and new to the international world. Both formats hit the buyer brief for a great track record of success, that’s for sure. Passion runs the whole gamut of non-scripted.

TV FORMATS: What has been your strategy in digital distribution and short-form content?
TANNER: Passion owns a subsidiary business called UpStream Media, which operates across the whole digital landscape. We have launched around 20 YouTube channels that generate millions of views each week. It has also reached a point of critical mass, which has enabled UpStream to begin investing in original content for the channels from production companies within our group. UpStream has also just announced a deal with Middlechild, an independent U.K. production company, to make content for our channels.

This is a potential growth area for everyone in the TV sector; for Passion and UpStream, it’s an opportunity to take our content to where people want to watch it. It also offers the chance of identifying new trends, talent and ideas that we can scale, possibly for long-form TV and on to bigger screens.

TV FORMATS: Are revenue streams still growing in the YouTube world?
TANNER: Absolutely. It’s a big place, and UpStream, through their experience and knowledge, has been great at finding audiences, delivering what audiences want and cross-promoting on YouTube and social media to bring new people to the content. Yes, it is a big part of our strategy, and it’s interlaced with our TV licensing and formats businesses.