{"id":15447,"date":"2025-11-03T08:50:44","date_gmt":"2025-11-03T13:50:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T17:10:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T22:10:34","slug":"passion-distributions-nick-tanner-on-distinctive-formats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/passion-distributions-nick-tanner-on-distinctive-formats\/","title":{"rendered":"Passion Distribution\u2019s Nick Tanner on Distinctive Formats"},"content":{"rendered":"

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<\/em>\u00a0about the company\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0A lot of the titles in your catalog are standout shows. Do they help capture the attention of buyers and viewers?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0They certainly do. Passion\u2019s strategy is always to be thought-provoking and do things slightly differently. Passion\u2019s offering has broad appeal, but at the same time, we are not afraid to represent ideas that haven\u2019t been seen before or address issues that are taboo or perhaps shocking.<\/p>\n

One of our current shows that best represents this is a format called\u00a0Virgin Island<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0So, your formats business is doing well?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0Absolutely. 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\u2019t have a \u201cback-catalog\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0Besides the idea of the format, the benefit for whoever acquires it is that it\u2019s a known entity that has worked somewhere else.
\nTANNER:<\/strong> 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.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0Does Passion remain involved in the production as an advisor?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0It is a bespoke situation for each project\u2014we 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\u2019re 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\u2019s about adding value to the IP, expanding it and passing that on to our broadcast partners.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong> What are some of your new formats?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0I mentioned\u00a0Virgin Island<\/em>\u00a0for Channel 4. It\u2019s quite edgy, but this is a social experiment about addressing the growing phenomenon of young people\u2019s issues with intimacy\u2014and why that might be. It has been a huge breakout success for Channel 4, smashing the network\u2019s streaming records and setting social media alight. We\u2019re just locking down the first international versions, which we will announce in due course.<\/p>\n

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<\/em>. It has run for four seasons in Germany, with a fifth on the way. And we have\u00a0World of Wonders<\/em>, 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\u2019s for sure. Passion runs the whole gamut of non-scripted.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0What has been your strategy in digital distribution and short-form content?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0Passion 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.<\/p>\n

This is a potential growth area for everyone in the TV sector; for Passion and UpStream, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

TV FORMATS:<\/strong>\u00a0Are revenue streams still growing in the YouTube world?
\nTANNER:<\/strong>\u00a0Absolutely. It\u2019s 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\u2019s interlaced with our TV licensing and formats businesses.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The director of sales and co-productions discusses\u00a0about the company\u2019s penchant for distinctive programming and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":289,"featured_media":15448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67,69],"tags":[1731,182],"class_list":["post-15447","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-interviews","category-top-stories","tag-nick-tanner","tag-passion-distribution","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nPassion Distribution\u2019s Nick Tanner on Distinctive Formats - TVFORMATS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/passion-distributions-nick-tanner-on-distinctive-formats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Passion Distribution\u2019s Nick Tanner on Distinctive Formats - 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