As RX France unveiled plans for MIP London, the biggest question for many non-scripted producers was the fate of MIPFormats. Per Lucy Smith and the team at RX, there are plans in the works to create a community for the unscripted sector at the event in London, but the consensus is that MIPFormats\u2014and the opportunity it created for brand-new ideas to make an impact on the global market\u2014will be missed,<\/p>\n
And as it turns out, the formats sector is in fairly good health, as several weekend sessions at MIPFormats indicated. As always, The WIT presented its Fresh TV format picks to a crowded room, while Michelle Lin, head of data and analysis at K7 Media, unveiled the company\u2019s well-regarded\u00a0Tracking the Giants<\/em><\/a>\u00a0survey<\/a>. There were more than 1,700 active format adaptations around the world in 2023, Lin said. \u201cYear-on-year, we have 14 percent growth in format adaptations. The format industry has never been so robust.\u201d<\/p>\n All3Media International\u2019s\u00a0The Traitors<\/em>\u00a0took the crown of \u201cFormat of the Year\u201d for its 11 new adaptations in 2023, topping the winner for the last four years,\u00a0The Masked Singer<\/em>, and up from 7 last year. There are nine new versions coming up in 2024, Lin noted. \u201cThe Traitors<\/em>\u00a0has pushed a wave of gamified, structured reality shows,\u201d Lin said.<\/p>\n In terms of new brands, the \u201cRising Format Star\u201d went to Banijay\u2019s\u00a0Good Luck Guys<\/em>. The \u201cStreamer Format Star\u201d is\u00a0LOL: Last One Laughing<\/em>\u00a0on Prime Video, which has emerged as the biggest buyer of unscripted formats around the world in 2023, Lin said. The format to watch in 2024 is Talpa Studios\u2019\u00a0The Floor<\/em>.<\/p>\n In terms of genres, entertainment dominates with 53 percent of format adaptations. The sub-genres of game shows and talent experienced gains, while adventure reality, with shows like\u00a0Destination X,<\/em>\u00a0is picking up steam. A year since its unveiling,\u00a0the Belgian competition format\u00a0<\/a>Destination X\u00a0<\/em><\/a>landed a full series order from NBC<\/a>. NBC and BBC commissioned U.S. and U.K. versions of the adventure reality series following the success of their commission of\u00a0The Traitors<\/em>. Twofour will produce U.S. and U.K. versions, while the NBC version will be co-produced with Universal Television Alternative Studio. Both versions will be filmed in tandem, with expectations to launch in 2025 across NBC, BBC One and iPlayer.<\/p>\n Also in the adventure reality genre, the new\u00a0Skydive Quiz\u00a0<\/em><\/a>format was unveiled at MIPFormats in a session<\/a>\u00a0featuring ZDF Studios\u2019 Unscripted VP Ralf R\u00fcckauer and the show\u2019s creator, M\u00e1rio Daniel, discussing its global rollout potential in conversation with\u00a0World Screen<\/em>\u2019s Kristin Brzoznowski. Daniel, a popular magician in his home of Portugal, came up with the concept for the format, in which contestants answer rapid-fire questions while taking their first-ever skydive, while preparing to jump out of a plane in handcuffs for a show on SIC. \u201cIt\u2019s not just about the jump; it\u2019s about the adrenaline rush,\u201d Daniel said. \u201cThere are a lot of things happening in your brain when you start making sure that you are about to do something like this.\u201d<\/p>\n R\u00fcckauer highlighted the simplicity of the premise: \u201cIt\u2019s not complicated: It\u2019s asking questions during a skydive jump. It\u2019s very emotional, and we\u2019re working on how to make it more emotional because the teams competing could be father\/daughter [duos] or best friends.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting its increasing commitment to the non-scripted entertainment space, ZDF Studios also sponsored this year\u2019s MIPFormats Pitch.\u00a0The Stupid House<\/em><\/a>, from Chulapo Pictures<\/a>, was selected as the best of this year\u2019s offerings.<\/p>\n Format launches continued into day one of MIPTV, when Nick Smith, executive VP of formats at All3Media International, and Shun Fukaya, head of format development at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS),\u00a0discussed the new co-developed format\u00a0<\/a>Lovers or Liars?<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in a session I was lucky enough to moderate.\u00a0Lovers or Liars?<\/em>\u00a0is the first project to emerge from the co-development pact sealed between All3Media and TBS. All3Media\u2019s North One boarded the development of the studio entertainment format, in which a celebrity panel tries to identify the real married couple out of four pairs of contestants.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause we were going to share the rights, we were very clear that if we were going to co-develop, we needed to work with someone we get along with and have the same goals,\u201d Smith said. \u201cAlso, they need to bring something to the table. The beauty of us working with TBS is that they bring something that is different from what we bring. So the two cultures coming together has worked really well.\u201d<\/p>\n Discussing the benefits of co-developing this property, Smith noted, \u201cWe both brought ideas the other party raised their eyebrows at. There was an idea for a hidden camera. When that was suggested, it came from the TBS side, we thought, Wow, that\u2019s risky! But it works so well. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s something we would have come up with.\u201d<\/p>\n The decision to include dance choreography, meanwhile, came from the All3Media side. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a dancing culture,\u201d Fukuya said. \u201cWe did not know how to direct the segment, but we decided to try it, and it came out to be very interesting. We could learn from each other\u2019s ways of directing a show.\u201d<\/p>\n Reflecting the importance of MIPFormats and MIPTV to Asian IP owners in particular, the week also saw the launch of\u00a0The Swap Project<\/em><\/a>, a new comedic social experiment format that made its debut in Japan earlier this year<\/a>. The East-meets-West title sees two people from different sides of the world with the same occupation swap lives for a week. Meanwhile, TV Asahi and Youngest Media Group aligned on\u00a0the physical game-show format\u00a0<\/a>Celebrity Fight Club<\/em><\/a>, based on the Japanese broadcaster\u2019s\u00a0Challengers on Fire<\/em>. In addition, Banijay acquired the format rights to the\u00a0South Korean dating format\u00a0<\/a>Alumni Lovers<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in France and the Netherlands<\/a>. The show originally launched on MBC in South Korea last December.<\/p>\n In another spin on the dating format,\u00a0Blind Dating<\/em><\/a>\u00a0was licensed for an adaptation in Africa<\/a>\u00a0in a deal sealed by GRB Media Ranch, while Dori Media further built the footprint for its\u00a0long-running\u00a0<\/a>Power Couple<\/em><\/a>\u00a0game show<\/a>. The format will be returning with new seasons in Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and Romania. It will be expanding to Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Norway through Banijay Nordic.<\/p>\n