VOX’s Marcel Amruschkewitz

The RTL-owned VOX channel has a bevy of programs that put authenticity at a premium, whether through telling the stories of people daring to do something differently, depicting a diversity of backgrounds and lifestyles or touching on socially relevant topics. Local adaptations of international formats have proven successful at delivering on this. Marcel Amruschkewitz, editor in chief and co-head of entertainment at the German channel, talks to TV Formats Weekly about some of the titles that have resonated particularly well with audiences and what he’d like to see more of in the marketplace.

TV FORMATS: What’s guiding VOX’s entertainment strategy at present?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: We always try, across all genres, to find a special approach to topics that are compatible with the masses. In recent years, we have succeeded in doing so through numerous local in-house developments but also by adapting international formats such as Dragons’ Den, Sing My Song and First Dates. Our strength and passion are to authentically tell the stories of people who really dare to do something, because we want to inspire and move our viewers with positive entertainment and because that’s what RTL Deutschland, and therefore VOX, stands for. That also includes depicting diversity and socially relevant topics; for example, with the adaptations of the dating shows Prince Charming and Princess Charming and The Undateables.

TV FORMATS: Do you require a solid track record before you’ll evaluate a format for adaptation?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: We do not take the performance of a format too much into consideration. Each territory and market has its own particularities, and it differs a lot in which format structure appeals to the respective audience. But a solid track record can help to speed up the evaluation process if you have plenty of versions in which the idea came to life already. It is part of the VOX DNA that we are also looking for new genres and formats to bring to the channel. To be less reliant on international formats, we have fostered local creativity a lot by partnering with local production companies on new developments; for example, successful VOX formats such as Kitchen Impossible, Mälzer und Henssler liefern ab! and Die Hitwisser.

TV FORMATS: What have been some of the most successful adaptations of international formats for VOX?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: Two of our most successful adaptations in daytime and access prime are Come Dine with Me and Shopping Queen. Come Dine with Me has been an integral part of the VOX program for 16 years, and Shopping Queen celebrated its tenth anniversary. In prime time, Dragons’ Den and The Best Singers have been regular ratings successes since 2014. Last year, The Real Full Monty was added. We have a second season of this great format that is intended to draw attention to the topic of cancer prevention. By the way, all the formats I just mentioned have been honored with a German Television Award. So, they are very popular not only with our viewers but also with the critics.

TV FORMATS: What’s on your wish list for entertainment and format acquisitions?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: At the moment, we are mainly looking for unique but broad two-hour-plus prime-time formats in the genres [of entertainment], reality or factual. In addition to VOX, we contribute to the unscripted slate of our streaming service RTL+. Unique but broad applies here as well as for the genres mentioned, but we’re more flexible about the duration of shows.

TV FORMATS: For which slots are you commissioning?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: Prime-time programming has priority, as our daytime and access prime are very robust, but we are consequently working on and testing for these time slots as well.

TV FORMATS: What would you like to see more of in the format marketplace?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: I would like to see more scalable and well-formatted factual formats with prime-time appeal or one-of-a-kind prime-time studio entertainment shows.

TV FORMATS: How do format adaptations complement the wider VOX slate?
AMRUSCHKEWITZ: The majority of our programming consists of in-house productions, including both in-house developments and adaptations, in which the teams of my co-entertainment director Kirsten Petersen and myself put a lot of energy, passion and know-how. We mostly focus on people and their stories, whether on Come Dine with Me, Shopping Queen, Sing My Song or our documentaries lasting several hours. Our viewers love the entertaining view through the keyhole; that’s what they expect from VOX.