{"id":15536,"date":"2026-01-05T10:18:27","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T15:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/"},"modified":"2026-01-07T13:17:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-07T18:17:56","slug":"2025-the-year-in-formats","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/","title":{"rendered":"2025: The Year in Formats"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a year full of challenges across the industry that led to broadcasters and streamers turning to known IP for a modicum of proven success, formats prospered across the globe, offering buyers reliable options for programming. Our inaugural TV Formats Festival<\/a>\u00a0featured insights from some of the top minds in the formats space, and The WIT\u2019s Caroline Servy noted that the market has tended toward known IP in the post-Covid era, with more returning brands and reboots than new concept rollouts.<\/p>\n

Megaformats seemed to have gotten even bigger last year, with\u00a0The Traitors<\/em>\u00a0in particular continuing its massive success. The format, which launched in 2021 and had a breakout year in 2024, saw orders for even more adaptations in 2025, as well as a slew of renewals. All3Media International signed a deal that will see NBC air a\u00a0new U.S. series with a civilian cast<\/a>\u00a0after the success of the celebrity version on Peacock, which will be returning for a fourth season this year and is already renewed for a fifth. New iterations of the show will also be coming to\u00a0Brazil, Mexico<\/a>,\u00a0Ukraine and Mongolia<\/a>. Luyworks Media and Something Special began production on a\u00a0version for the Korean market<\/a>\u00a0as well. Additionally, the format landed plenty of renewals around the world, with Canada\u2019s CTV\u00a0ordering a fourth season<\/a>\u00a0of its iteration and Prime Video in India\u00a0commissioning a second<\/a>\u00a0of its version.<\/p>\n

Various long-running brands made their returns, with\u00a0Deal or No Deal<\/em>\u00a0returning to screens<\/a>\u00a0in Mexico and the U.S. Hispanic market after a five-year hiatus and\u00a0Project Runway<\/em>\u00a0being revived<\/a>\u00a0in Canada after last airing in 2009. In France, an adaptation of\u00a0Weakest Link<\/em>\u00a0was ordered for M6<\/a>\u00a0following the success of two specials on the channel in 2024. Plus, Metronome\u00a0was commissioned to produce<\/a>\u00a0a new Danish version of\u00a0Fear Factor<\/em>\u00a0after more than two decades.<\/p>\n

In this era of known IP seeming to reign supreme, several new formats were conceived based on games and brands known off-screen. Fremantle\u00a0secured the international distribution rights<\/a>\u00a0to The CW\u2019s\u00a0Scrabble<\/em>\u00a0game show. Keller\/Noll\u00a0partnered with Goliath and Perfect Game<\/a>\u00a0to launch a game show based on Shark Bite. And\u00a0Trivial Pursuit<\/em>, a game show based on the board game of the same name, found a new taker in 2025\u2014Satisfaction Iberia\u00a0signed up to produce<\/a>\u00a0a Spanish adaptation.<\/p>\n

In terms of genre, dating remained popular throughout the year, with major success for two of its megaformats:\u00a0Love Island<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Married at First Sight<\/em>. For\u00a0Love Island<\/em>,\u00a0Love Island: All Stars<\/em>\u00a0returned for a second season<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. on Peacock, which also\u00a0greenlit the brand-new spin-off<\/a>\u00a0Love Island: Beyond the Villa<\/em>. A FAST channel for the hit format\u2014World of Love Island\u2014launched on Prime Video in the U.S.<\/a>\u00a0In the U.K.,\u00a0Love Island: All Stars<\/em>\u00a0was\u00a0renewed for an extended third season<\/a>. Seven.One Studios International\u00a0scaled its dating megaformat\u00a0<\/a>Married at First Sight<\/em><\/a>\u00a0with new spin-offs, recommissions and various FAST channels. Other dating formats continued to find success as well\u2014Love Is Blind<\/em>\u00a0was\u00a0renewed by Netflix through season ten<\/a>, and Dori Media Group\u00a0signed new deals for\u00a0<\/a>Power Couple<\/em><\/a>\u00a0in a number of territories, including Brazil, Germany and India.<\/p>\n

Despite being in an age of known IP being king, there was still room for brand-new ideas. Netflix ordered its fair share of fresh formats, from\u00a0Cheat: Unfinished Business<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Age of Attraction<\/em><\/a>\u00a0to a\u00a0Willy Wonka-inspired competition<\/a>. Apple TV\u00a0introduced\u00a0<\/a>KPOPPED<\/em><\/a>, and 5\u00a0launched\u00a0<\/a>Celebrity Puzzling<\/em><\/a>. Other new formats include Seven.One Studios International\u2019s\u00a0The Hunt<\/em><\/a>, Talpa Studios\u2019\u00a0Watch Your Back<\/em><\/a>and\u00a0The House of Hide & Seek<\/em><\/a>, BBC Studios\u2019\u00a0The Inner Circle<\/em><\/a>, Banijay Entertainment\u2019s\u00a0All Star Hide and Seek<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and Fremantle\u2019s\u00a0Pandora\u2019s Box<\/em><\/a>, among others.<\/p>\n

The drama sector faced its own increase in risk-aversion, and the scripted formats sector was able to serve it well. All3Media International\u2019s\u00a0Doc Martin<\/em>\u00a0landed an adaptation in the U.S.<\/a>,\u00a0Shameless<\/em>\u00a0scored an Indian iteration<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Step Dave<\/em>\u00a0secured a Malaysian version<\/a>. Nippon TV signed a deal in the Middle East for versions of\u00a0Mother<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Woman -My Life for My Children-<\/em><\/a>. The ITV series\u00a0Broadchurch<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Liar<\/em><\/a>\u00a0found international broadcasters. The Turkish dramas\u00a0Three Sisters<\/em><\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Time Goes By<\/em><\/a>, represented by Kanal D International, were remade in Kazakhstan and the Middle East, respectively. The Israeli format\u00a0Your Honor<\/em>\u00a0also found particular success this year, with remakes in\u00a0China<\/a>,\u00a0Ukraine<\/a>,\u00a0Poland<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Greece<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With so much success across scripted and unscripted, many companies bolstered their focus on formats with new partnerships, labels and co-production deals. Nippon TV\u00a0unveiled Gyokuro Studio<\/a>. BBC Studios Productions\u00a0launched a dedicated reality label<\/a>\u00a0led by Peter Tierney. Fremantle\u00a0debuted a new format development banner<\/a>\u00a0under Nick Mather. ITV Studios\u00a0announced a label<\/a>\u00a0focused on scalable entertainment and competitive formats, headed by Lily Wilson and Tom Williams. Harry King TV\u00a0debuted the unscripted division Harry King Unscripted<\/a>. Fremantle\u00a0signed a three-year deal with Eureka Studios<\/a>\u00a0to develop a slate of unscripted formats. And Expectation and Plegazoid\u00a0teamed up to develop titles<\/a>\u00a0in the game show and reality space.<\/p>\n

Formats even got involved in the immersive gaming space, with\u00a0Hell\u2019s Kitchen<\/em>\u00a0becoming the first format brand<\/a>\u00a0to be brought into Roblox, followed later in the year by\u00a0The Great Bake Off<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n

To catch up on all the news of the last year and stay up-to-date on the top stories of 2026, visit\u00a0TVFormats.ws<\/a>\u00a0and subscribe to\u00a0TV Formats Weekly<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0World Screen Newsflash<\/em>, which you can do for free\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An overview of the top stories in the formats business in 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":15537,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[4626],"class_list":["post-15536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-tv-formats","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n2025: The Year in 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\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"2025: The Year in Formats - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An overview of the top stories in the formats business in 2025.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-05T15:18:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-07T18:17:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/01\/2025-year-in-review.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"395\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/\",\"name\":\"2025: The Year in Formats - TVFORMATS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-05T15:18:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-07T18:17:56+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/2025-the-year-in-formats\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"2025: The Year in Formats\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\",\"name\":\"TVFORMATS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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