The never-ending search for the next big thing in entertainment formats was on the agenda at MIPFormats and MIPTV last week as everyone from global behemoths to digital upstarts hyped their new wares to broadcasters and platforms eager for a compelling new idea.<\/p>\n
Peter Salmon, chief creative officer at Endemol Shine Group, touted the new talent competition All Together Now <\/em>in his MIPFormats session<\/strong><\/a>, in which he was interviewed by World Screen<\/em>\u2019s Anna Carugati. Salmon has high hopes for the format globally, even though he noted that it\u2019s difficult to break out with a new talent competition today. \u201cThere are some amazing formats out there\u2014The Voice<\/em>, The X Factor<\/em>, Idols<\/em>. It\u2019s very hard to break into the Saturday night, weekend entertainment market with a new talent show. We set out from the beginning to be a new, energetic, challenger brand to those big shows. It\u2019s been a long time since a big singing talent show has been launched.\u201d All Together Now<\/em>, Salmon said, \u201ccan work anywhere, it\u2019s very inclusive, very diverse, and you can tailor it any way you want.\u201d<\/p>\n The format, which is headed to Australia, originated on BBC One, which has signed up for a second season. Kate Phillips, the controller of BBC Entertainment, commissioned the brand from Endemol Shine\u2019s Remarkable Television. \u201cWe have to take risks,\u201d said Phillips of the BBC\u2019s approach to programming<\/a><\/strong>. \u201cWe\u2019re not a commercial channel, we can probably try things out, and I think I\u2019ve taken a lot of risks since I started. I have a team who feel passionately about new ideas. When I started the job, we put over 50 ideas into development at all levels and worked hand in hand with the indies of all sizes in bringing those shows to life. I will always take risks. I will always commission from paper, tape, whatever grabs us. There\u2019s nothing that gets me more excited than a new idea that feels distinctive and fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n On competing with FAANGs, Phillips said, \u201cI think it\u2019s brilliant that there are people putting this amount of money into our industry. From a point of view of my friends running indies, great, there\u2019s another outlet. In the factual-entertainment space, they are definitely tough competition. In terms of our big Saturday night shows, I don\u2019t see [online platforms] so much as competition. It\u2019s like with sporting events. Sporting events are live, shared experiences. No one knows what\u2019s going to happen. That\u2019s what it\u2019s like with big talent shows. You\u2019re watching it together, you\u2019re waiting for the result, and you go into work the next day and everyone is talking about it and you\u2019re waiting for next week. Those big, special, appointment-to-view pieces sit very well on terrestrial channels.\u201d<\/p>\n Alex Mahon, CEO of rival U.K. broadcaster Channel 4, expressed a similar perspective in her MIPFormats keynote<\/strong><\/a>. \u201cThe concept of distinctiveness in a post-Netflix world is more important than ever,\u201d she said. As is relevance for linear broadcasters. \u201cWhy does the audience need you, what do you provide to the market that others don\u2019t?\u201d<\/p>\n Mahon went on to say, \u201cYou might think the market is more fragmented, but big shows are getting bigger. We used to talk about event television as, Are you watching at 8 p.m. on Saturday night? It\u2019s now, Did you see what I saw this week? That\u2019s about relevancy. No matter how you window across that, whether it\u2019s VOD or live or repeat, there\u2019s a demand from consumers for that.\u201d<\/p>\n On the lack of new big format hits over the last few years, Mahon commented, \u201cThere is a tendency in our business to de-risk everything. Things don\u2019t take off really fast and then they are abandoned. The answer to that is to open up the risk windows in the schedule, where risks can be taken. So that might be later, or daytime. And do it enough, repeatedly, so there isn\u2019t the inherent fear locked into every individual show. And to encourage the environment where you can be open and ask about things and try ideas without diluting them by risking every element.\u201d<\/p>\n At mobile-first content studio Vertical Networks, there is less risk with new ideas because the company is heavily reliant on data. The producer of Snapchat\u2019s biggest show, Phone Swap<\/em>, combines \u201ccreative with data,\u201d said CEO Tom Wright in his MIPFormats session<\/strong><\/a>, moderated by World Screen<\/em>\u2019s Carugati. \u201cBy the time we make a show, we\u2019re quietly confident, based on the math, that that show is going to be successful. And everything we make is designed to go to television. Everything we make, the end goal is to make big global TV formats.\u201d<\/p>\n The company\u2019s specialty, Wright explained, is \u201cdense formats,\u201d targeted to audiences with limited time\u2014and attention spans. \u201cIf you look at a traditional piece of television, one could argue that you might have a 22-minute show and within it, you might have 4 minutes of really good stuff and then packaging. Our approach is to remove all the packaging. If you treat impatience as a virtue, with that comes the requirement that when you\u2019re building a format, there isn\u2019t time to explain what the format is. You have to get into it. There is an obligation that anything you provide for that audience has to be immediately impactful and rewarding. You\u2019ve got to earn the right for exposition. You can\u2019t assume you have this sit-back audience. They have everything in the world they could be doing with their time if you lose [their] attention.\u201d<\/p>\n So what is captivating the attention of buyers? The big format brands remain in high demand, such as BBC Studios\u2019 Dancing with the Stars<\/a><\/em>, which is headed to Nepal<\/a><\/strong>. Keshet International secured a raft of new deals for Masters of Dance<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, including in Vietnam and Norway. In the game-show space, Warner Bros. International Television Production Spain (WBITVP Spain) secured a commission from Antena 3 for Game of Games<\/em><\/a><\/strong>. And on the fact-ent side, Channel 4 renewed Old People\u2019s Home for 4 Year Olds<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, and ITV ordered a second season of What Would Your Kid Do?<\/em><\/a><\/strong> Seven in Australia, meanwhile, snapped up the format and finished tape rights to all3media international\u2019s <\/strong>The Real Full Monty<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n Some new concepts also generated headlines at MIPFormats, with the Italian series Light My Fire! <\/a><\/em>selected as the winner of Formagination at MIPFormats: The International Format Pitch<\/a><\/strong>. Armoza Formats, partner of Formagination at MIPFormats, secured its first deal on The Surprise Teacher<\/em><\/a><\/strong>. Endemol Shine Group picked up two new properties last week, LEGO Masters<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, a talent format, and the game show Puzzle Masters<\/em><\/a><\/strong>. And as part of its efforts to deliver a new wave of titles with global appeal, Keshet International entered into a pact with Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation (YTV) in Japan<\/a><\/strong> to co-develop a non-scripted format.<\/p>\n Scripted formats were also a hot commodity last week. India’s Applause Entertainment licensed the remake rights for three of Armoza Formats\u2019 scripted series<\/a><\/strong>, including the crime thriller Hostages<\/em>. Dori Media Group clinched an agreement with TV Azteca<\/a><\/strong> for its daily drama Lalola<\/em>. And Ukraine’s STB TV channel scored the rights to adapt Nippon TV’s Mother<\/em><\/a><\/strong>, which has already been remade in Korea and Turkey.<\/p>\n