{"id":7916,"date":"2020-11-09T09:00:07","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T14:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2020-11-10T09:24:45","modified_gmt":"2020-11-10T14:24:45","slug":"the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/","title":{"rendered":"The Story Lab Cooks Up COVID-Proof Entertainment"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment at The Story Lab, talks to <\/em>TV Formats<em> about how the company is focusing its efforts on meeting broadcasters\u2019 need for formats that are flexible and scalable, both creatively and commercially.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>A producer and distributor of entertainment formats that travel the globe, The Story Lab prides itself on its ability to identify forward-thinking ideas.<\/p>\n<p>While the appetite for risk has receded, negatively affecting the format output from territories like the U.S., the U.K. and Northern Europe, other regions are finding a window into the international market, according to Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment at The Story Lab. The circumstances, due in large part to COVID-19, have \u201ccreated new opportunities for format creators from other parts of the world, such as Korea and Japan, bringing different perspectives on formatting and a completely new spin on traditional content,\u201d she says. \u201cAt The Story Lab, our co-development partnership with Japan\u2019s Nippon TV has just launched <em>9 Windows<\/em>, a brilliantly funny game show-meets-talent contest, and a great example of something that feels highly original and fresh.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Story Lab\u2019s partnerships with Nippon TV and the London-based youngest Media have continued to prove fruitful. \u201cWe have been working with youngest Media for several years now, rolling out hit formats like our reality dating show <em>Game of Clones<\/em> to markets all over the world,\u201d says Paraskakis. \u201cOur relationship with Nippon TV is more recent but is already bearing fruit with the early success of <em>9 Windows<\/em>.\u201d (In addition to <em>9 Windows <\/em>and <em>Game of Clones<\/em>, The Story Lab\u2019s MIPCOM slate included the factual-entertainment title <em>You Are Not Alone<\/em> and the live interactive cooking program <em>All Together at the Table<\/em>.)<\/p>\n<p>The new formats that are appealing most to broadcasters these days need to be fun and positive, but also must prove that they will still bring in viewers when the coronavirus is less influential to their viewing habits, says\u00a0 Paraskakis. And of course, they must be inclusive and capable of working in a diverse cross-section of territories. \u201cFormats with universal themes that can be easily adapted to different markets remain the most successful internationally,\u201d she explains. \u201cThat said, audiences are increasingly craving something that breaks the mold, and that could be the secret to finding the next breakout hit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the global format industry stands now, it\u2019s a \u201cmixed picture,\u201d according to Paraskakis. Broadcasters want to pack their schedules with the familiar, what has proven popular in the past, while streamers have upped their volume orders, opening a door for new ideas. \u201cIn spite of these uncertain times, content remains king, the industry is bouncing back and there are plenty of reasons to feel optimistic about the future,\u201d she says. \u201cAlthough we are in the midst of troubled times, the ever-changing content industry continues to gather pace. We will see exciting times ahead!\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment at The Story Lab, on how the company is focusing its efforts on meeting broadcasters\u2019 need for formats that are flexible and scalable, both creatively and commercially.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1033,"featured_media":7917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[68,69],"tags":[1575,891],"class_list":["post-7916","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-profiles","category-top-stories","tag-fotini-paraskakis","tag-the-story-lab","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Story Lab Cooks Up COVID-Proof Entertainment - 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\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Story Lab Cooks Up COVID-Proof Entertainment - TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Fotini Paraskakis, executive VP of entertainment at The Story Lab, on how the company is focusing its efforts on meeting broadcasters\u2019 need for formats that are flexible and scalable, both creatively and commercially.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVFORMATS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-11-09T14:00:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-10T14:24:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2017\/07\/9W.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"400\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chelsea Regan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/\",\"name\":\"The Story Lab Cooks Up COVID-Proof Entertainment - TVFORMATS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-11-09T14:00:07+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-11-10T14:24:45+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/#\/schema\/person\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/the-story-lab-cooks-up-covid-proof-entertainment\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvformats\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Story Lab Cooks Up COVID-Proof Entertainment\"}]},{\"@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\/2a2c6d8fb3c7c8b4220b8877ecffb79a\",\"name\":\"Chelsea Regan\",\"description\":\"Chelsea Regan is the managing editor of World Screen. 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