Asked about the current health and vitality of the formats market, Sarah Tong, director of sales at Hat Trick International, describes it as: \u201cVery risk-averse.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt feels like broadcasters are looking at revamping tried-and-tested formats rather than taking \u2018risks\u2019 on your new ideas,\u201d she tells\u00a0TV Formats Weekly<\/em>. \u201cWe are finding some interest in health and wellbeing shows, which is fortunate, as we have a fantastic Aussie series in this space,\u00a0Do You Want to Live Forever?<\/em>, which aired on Nine Network last year.\u201d<\/p>\n Tong admits that it has been a tough year across all genres but cites continued success for formats such as\u00a0Have I Got News for You<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Rich House Poor House<\/em>, which have been recommissioned globally. The former has a second season order from CNN in the U.S. \u201cWe hope that these hit shows will continue to rate and return, along with other entertainment favorites such as\u00a0Whose Line Is It Anyway?<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Dinner Date<\/em>,\u201d says Tong.<\/p>\n Hat Trick is also having more conversations for scripted formats, \u201cso we hope that this area will continue to grow\u2014especially with comedies that, when very localized to their home country, don\u2019t travel as finished shows but can do brilliantly as a format and localized country by country,\u201d Tong says.<\/p>\n In this challenging market, getting a fresh, original concept over to commission may not be easy, but, of course, it is still possible\u2014with the right ingredients. It needs to be \u201cnew, different, never been tried before,\u201d Tong says. \u201cUnfortunately, currently, that is viewed as risky and is a tough sell in tough times. A new spin on an existing format manages the risk while delivering new concepts, such as\u00a0Rich Holiday Poor Holiday<\/em>, which is a diversification that follows on from the success of\u00a0Rich House Poor House<\/em>, and, more recently,\u00a0Have I Got Sport for You<\/em>, which is a spin-off of the juggernaut that is\u00a0Have I Got News for You<\/em>\u00a0that aired on BBC One last December.\u201d<\/p>\n As for landing recommissions on formats, Tong says that \u201cratings drive returning commissions. We\u2019re seeing this with all of our evergreen returning format brands, which is testament to the quality and genius of the original ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n Budgets are feeling the squeeze across the board, so having some cost-effective propositions in the catalog is key for success in this market. \u201cWe work closely with producers we represent, including Hat Trick Productions and smaller independent companies like Strawberry Blond, creator of\u00a0Strangers on a Plane<\/em>,\u201d Tong says. \u201cThese independent producers excel at stretching tight budgets without compromising quality, and through them, we can offer valuable consultancy and support to help international producers maximize efficiency while adapting formats.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sarah Tong, director of sales at Hat Trick International, on navigating a risk-averse market.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":350,"featured_media":14803,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[873,874],"class_list":["post-14804","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-hat-trick-international","tag-sarah-tong","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n