TV Formats October 2009

MIPCOMEDITION

Game ShowsNBC’s Paul TelegdySony’s Steve Moskoand Mike MorleyITV Studios’ Lee Bartlettwww.tvformats.ws THE MAGAZINE FOR THE FORMAT BUSINESS OCTOBER 2009

Cost-effective programming with fresh, original conceptslooks to be a winning combination for Armoza Formats.Several new shows will be making their MIPCOM debut inthe company’s lineup, spanning genres including gameshows, dating reality series, drama and comedy. “There’sreally a potpourri of genres,audiences and production types,”says Avi Armoza, the CEO of Armoza Formats.“We alwaysstrive to be current and relevant, to be forward-thinking inthe format industry, and to anticipate future TV trends. Eachof these shows brings a fresh idea to the format world.”

The Incompetents puts a new spin on in-studio comedypanels, while Buzz Off takes dating shows to the next level.Also new to the slate is Loving Anna, a drama;Heaven or Else,a game show; and Funny Side Up, a comedy-reality hybrid.

Highlights• Loving Anna• The Incompetents• Heaven or Else• Buzz Off• Funny Side Up

Heaven or Else

Armoza Formatswww.armozaformats.com

“We always strive to becurrent and relevant, to be forward-thinking in theformat industry, and toanticipate future TV trends.”

—Avi Armoza

Many of the formats in 2waytraffic’s catalogue come witha proven track record, such as Who Wants to Be aMillionaire? and Dragons’ Den. There’s also a host of newformats heading to the market this year, including YourKid’s an Idiot, which has been a recent ratings success onBBC Three, and Big Chain Reaction, which did well inGermany and the Netherlands this summer.Also a high-light, Frenemies is a new genre of quiz show injected witha reality element. “We’re very excited about How to Winthe World Cup, which is sure to set pulses racing as weapproach the big event in South Africa next year,” says EdLouwerse, the managing director of 2waytraffic, a SonyPictures Entertainment company. “This format goes onsale for the first time at the MIPCOM market,” Louwerseadds. “And we are also highlighting The Dating Game, anew version of which is soon launching on TF1.” Mr &Mrs is offered as well.

Highlights• Your Kid’s an Idiot• Big Chain Reaction • Frenemies • How to Win the World Cup • The Dating Game

2waytrafficwww.2waytraffic.com

7TV FORMATS

IN THIS ISSUE

Money TalksGame shows continueto perform well and offerrevenue opportunities for cash-strappedbroadcasters 14

InterviewsNBC’s Paul Telegdy 24Sony’s Steve Mosko and Mike Morley 28ITV Studios’ Lee Bartlett 32Global Agency’sIzzet Pinto 34

Mr & Mrs

“We’re very excited aboutHow to Win the World Cup,which is sure to set pulsesracing as we approach thebig event in South Africanext year.”

—Ed Louwerse

Ricardo Seguin GuisePublisher

Anna CarugatiEditor

Mansha DaswaniExecutive Editor

Kristin BrzoznowskiManaging Editor

Lauren M. UdaProduction and Design

DirectorSimon Weaver

Online DirectorPhyllis Q. Busell

Art DirectorTatiana Rozza

Sales and MarketingDirector

Kelly QuirozSales and Marketing

ManagerRae Matthew

Business Affairs ManagerCesar Suero

Sales and MarketingAssistant

Ricardo Seguin GuisePresident

Anna CarugatiExecutive VP and

Group Editorial DirectorMansha Daswani

VP of Content Strategy

TV Formats© 2009 WSN INC.

1123 Broadway, #1207New York, NY 10010

Phone: (212) 924-7620

Fax: (212) 924-6940

Website: www.tvformats.ws

The format offerings from FremantleMedia incorporatemany current industry trends, from dancing competitions todating shows to series with a feel-good angle.Let’s Dance seescelebrities take on iconic dance routines. Take Me Out andLove Taxi both delve into the world of dating. In WelcomeHome!, friends create home-makeover surprises to improvethe lives of deserving recipients.Then there are game-showformats such as Crash Course, Risking It All and Let’s Make aDeal. “Entertainment is a recessionary industry,” says RobClark, the president of worldwide entertainment.“In timeswhen people don’t have a lot of money, they very muchwant what FremantleMedia gives them, which is these bigfamily-friendly entertainment shows. It’s the four ‘F’s:Family-friendly, Fun, Familiar and Flexible on budgets.”

Highlights• Let’s Dance • Let’s Make a Deal• Welcome Home! • Love Taxi • Cinderella CEO

Let’s Dance

FremantleMediawww.fremantlemedia.com

“FremantleMedia [offers]big family-friendly entertainment shows.”

—Rob Clark

Highlights• The Parents• Seduction

La Presse Télé

MIPCOM is the first market where La Presse Télé will bedistributing its product, and company president AndréProvencher is looking forward to the inaugural outing.“Our programs are addressed to audiences of all ages whoare partial to quality and originality,” he says.“We are veryexcited to meet our clients and discover new potentialpartners.” Leading off La Presse Télé’s properties is TheParents, a scripted comedy consisting of sketches on the artof being a parent in the modern world.“It is the series youneed if you want to refresh the comedy offerings in yourschedule,” says Provencher. La Presse Télé is also presentingSeduction, a reality-entertainment show that aired for itsfourth season on Radio-Canada, reaching more than a mil-lion viewers and more than a 30-percent market share.“Seduction is heartwarming and gives an opportunity to dis-cover new things about your favorite celebrity as well asbeautiful and unknown communities,” adds Provencher.

www.lapressetele.ca

The Parents

“Our programs are addressed toaudiences of all ages who are partial to quality and originality.”

—André Provencher

TV FORMATS8

by visiting www.tvformats.wsGet daily news on the formats business

344 World Screen 10/09

TV FORMATS10

Love and marriage take center stage in theSinevizyon TV Production formats May I Call YouMom? and Foreign Bride.The reality–soap opera showMay I Call You Mom? involves a house, surrounded bycameras 24/7, in which five wanna-be grooms live.Another house contains ten aspiring bride candi-dates and the five women who might soon becometheir mothers-in-law. In Foreign Bride, ten womenwill travel from different countries to live in a houseand meet men.The twist is that they will live togetherwith the mothers of these men. “They are both verysuccessful and are applicable for many countries inthe world,” says Pelin Akat, Sinevizyon’s executiveproducer.

Akat also notes that co-productions in Turkey andRomania are particularly what Sinevizyon is after.“Formats have had to reduce their budgets; that’swhy I really do believe that co-productions shouldbe used more effectively in the TV industry.”

Highlights• Foreign Bride• May I Call You Mom?

Sinevizyon TV Productionwww.sinevizyon.tv

The core principals that were in place when Si Hay Ideasbegan are still central to its business philosophy today.“Wewant to combine different narrative structures, take riskswith new game dynamics, combine multiple platforms andinvolve TV viewers with our content,” explains CamilaMisas, the creative director at Si Hay Ideas. “We havefocused on these since we entered the market two yearsago, and so far we can say we’ve had favorable results.” SiHay Ideas heads to Cannes with titles such as MissionAccomplished,The Crash Testers,Heart Beat and Vocalist Wanted.Misas believes these titles will be particularly attractivebecause they fall in line with current trends. “We believethat talent and game shows will continue to be very attrac-tive in the market because they can be produced withsmaller budgets.Also, without a doubt, content created formultiple platforms...will call buyers’ attention.”

Highlights• Mission Accomplished • www.What Shall I Do.tv• The Crash Testers • Vocalist Wanted • Heart Beat

Si Hay IdeasVocalistWanted

“We want to combine different narrativestructures, take risks with new game dynamics,combine multiple platforms and involve TVviewers with our content.”

—Camila Misas

www.sihayideas.com

May I Call You Mom?

“Formats have had to reduce their budgets; that’s why I really do believe that co-productions should be used moreeffectively in the TV industry.”

—Pelin Akat

Dating in the Dark, a dating reality format with a twist, hada successful run this summer in the U.S. on ABC, and hasbeen sold to 16 countries.Talpa Distribution has high hopesfor adding new broadcasters to the roster at MIPCOM.Further titles Talpa believes will be attractive include KnowYour Nation,which has a lighthearted take on current affairsand social issues; Laugh and You Lose, an entertainmentoffering; and the game show Divided, which had a strongshowing in the U.K.on ITV1 and was renewed. I Love MyCountry is also going strong with recommissions.Talpa pro-vides a wealth of production support for its titles. MaartenMeijs, the director of sales, explains,“Our buyers considerworking with us as a partnership.We create and produce allour formats in-house and do our utmost to share ourknowledge with our buyers.Our mutual goal is to create asuccess in their territories.”

Highlights• Know Your Nation• Dating in the Dark• Laugh and You Lose• I Love My Country• Divided

Talpa DistributionLaugh and

You Lose

“We create and produce all our formats in-house and do our utmost toshare our knowledge with our buyers.”

—Maarten Meijs

www.talpa.tv

TV FORMATS12

Phrases like “Is that your final answer?”“No whammies, nowhammies, no whammies!” and “Come on down!” have allmade their way into the pop-culture lexicon courtesy ofgame shows.Viewers have been tuning in for decades—inlarge numbers, too—to watch contestants try their hand attaking home cash and pr izes. Hundreds of quiz-and-competition concepts have come and gone since the firstTV game show,Truth or Consequences, hit the airwaves in 1950.

Some,like The Price Is Right,havehad the right alchemy to keepviewers tuning in for more than30 years, and counting.

The Price Is Right made itsdebut in its current version in1972, and still grabs high day-time ratings in the U.S.on CBS.The show made Bob Barker aTV legend during his 35 years ashost, no doubt adding to ThePrice Is Right’s appeal with view-ers.Contestants are plucked rightfrom the audience for theirchance to play one of 80 differentgames, like “Plinko”or “Hi-Lo,”in hopes of winning valuableprizes, ranging from motorhomes and cars to trips and fur-niture. The show just startedagain in France and has been onair for many years in a numberof other European territories.FremantleMedia produces thelong-running hit, which camefrom the Mark Goodson-BillTodman Productions catalogue.

BIG WINNERSThe Goodson-Todman slatealso brought another tried-and-true game-show successto FremantleMedia, FamilyFeud. In one time slot oranother, the quiz show hasbeen around for more than 30years.This year the venerablegame show, which pits twofamilies against each other in acontest to name the mostpopular responses to a survey-type question posed to 100people, will be on the air inaround ten territories, butover its lifespan has aired inmore than 40 markets.

Together, The Price Is Rightand Family Feud form whatRob Clark, the president ofworldwide entertainment atFremantleMedia, calls the“crown jewels”of the company’sgame-show catalogue. “With

those two shows, we don’t allow any changes to that format,at all,” explains Clark about adapting these shows interna-tionally.“Those formats [work the way they are.] There really isno need to change them.They just tap into something that’sentertaining.They’re fun, they’re loud, the values that theyhave are still important.”

A more recent example of a game show with a winningformat is Endemol’s Deal or No Deal. Since hitting the airwaves

TV FORMATS14

By Kristin Brzoznowski

World Screen 10/09348

MONEYTALK$Game shows continue to perform well and offer cash-strappedbroadcasters advantages like brand recognition, product extensionsand opportunities for advertising sponsorships.

2waytraffic’s Who Wants to Be

a Millionaire?

in 2005, Deal or No Deal has become a serious money-makerfor the Dutch outfit.The show was a runaway hit on NBCin the U.S., and is a proven success worldwide.

“Without a doubt, Deal or No Deal has been Endemol’sbiggest hit game show,” says Paul Römer, the company’s chiefcreative officer.“It’s captured the imagination of people allover the world and sold in 135 countries, including key mar-kets throughout Europe, the U.S. and Southeast Asia.”

Making the show a success in each market requires fine-tuning and tweaking, but Römer says it’s essential that thegame itself remains the same through all the adaptations.“As long as you never change the game mechanics, it’s pos-sible to make a show work in any country.You can changeeverything about the look and feel, but never the mechan-ics. Each version of Deal or No Deal looks completely dif-ferent, but the audience is continually captivated by thegame-play architecture.”

The game play of Deal or No Deal doesn’t involve trivia-style knowledge or physical-performance components like

most game shows. Rather, chance is the real deal breaker. It’sa game of odds that keeps the players (and the audience!) insuspense until the very end.

“Although Deal or No Deal is a game of luck, its most engag-ing element is that the viewers can play along,” says Römer.“Everyone at home has an opinion on what the contestantshould do:They need to choose to take the deal or not!”

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is another megahit that’seasy to play along with from home.Viewers can turn theircouch into “the hot seat” and guess right alongside the stu-dio competitor. Just a little more than a decade since the WhoWants to Be a Millionaire? format made its debut in the U.K.,the iconic quiz show’s popularity is still as strong as ever.

“Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? has been a global successstory which continues to resonate hugely with viewersaround the world,” says Mike Morley, the executive VP andchief creative officer for international production at SonyPictures Television,which holds rights to the format as part ofits acquisition of 2waytraffic. “Just some of the countries

where the show has been licensedinclude India, Colombia, China,Venezuela, Malaysia,Australia, Russia,Singapore, Philippines, Kazakhstan,Poland, the U.K., Germany andIsrael. Most pleasingly, the introduc-tion of a new variation,Who Wants toBe a Millionaire? Hot Seat, has seenthe show become a regular ratingswinner in Australia, even againsttough competition from the likes ofDeal or No Deal. In addition todemands for new twists, there are clearopportunities for the classic show toreturn and play to its old strengths.”

MAKING ALTERATIONSMorley says that a good portion ofthe show’s worldwide success is theflexibility of the format. Who Wantsto Be a Millionaire? has been localizedfor a slew of markets, and new ele-ments have been added and modifiedto keep it fresh, all the while remain-ing true to the brand.

“The tricky part is tuning the for-mat into the local culture and, at thesame time, not altering the format’sunique selling points,”Morley explains.“Local humor, traditions and practicessometimes conspire to dilute a for-mat’s potency, so you have to workcreatively to improve the global prod-uct to get a good local fit. Localizingshows is one of the things we do best,and it’s key that we do it in a cost-effective way. Our team of producersand creators, who have years of expe-rience, can advise clients on how ourformat brands will work best and offersolutions to address the budgetarypressures that broadcasters are feeling.”


A great catch:Vem kan slå Filip ochFredrik, the Swedishversion of SevenOne’sBeat Your Host!, features twocompeting hostsinstead of one.

TV FORMATS16

SevenOne International’s smash hit Beat YourHost! has undergone some serious alterations asit’s traveled from one market to the next, andeach adaptation has found its own success.Theformat centers on the battle between contest-ant and host. It calls for a combination of ath-letic prowess, skill, knowledge, bravery andwillpower, and offers a potpourri of differentgames within each episode.

“We were able to create adaptations for theformat that have turned out to be very success-ful,” says Jens Richter, the managing director ofSevenOne.“In Sweden, the audience contest-ant is not [just] fighting against one host,they’re fighting against two hosts. Because wewere able to find a team of hosts there who areextremely funny and reckless and outrageous,the Swedish version is an exceedingly funnyone.There’s a lot of comedy in that version.”

SevenOne changed the format yet again forITV in the U.K., swapping in celebritiesinstead.“With Beat the Star,we’ve found anothersuccessful adaptation.We do not have the samehost playing in each episode, but we have dif-ferent celebrities—a colorful mix of sports starsand TV stars—competing in each episodeagainst an audience contestant.That show isreally strong for us.”

The U.K. adaptation even made its way backinto Germany.This year, ProSieben aired theBeat Your Host! version, Schlag den Raab, andthen the U.K. adaptation, Beat the Star, in thespring as a special series.

VALUE ADDED Beat Your Host! and its various adaptations areaired as big prime-time events. Though notexactly inexpensive to produce, this type ofshow can add a lot of value for a broadcasterby creating a tentpole brand. Richter explains,“Big flagship shows, if they’re combined with

creative marketing, can generate big awareness.This is exactly what you want to create foryour channel. Those kinds of shows are notreally cheap.They’re rather expensive to pro-duce. Considering the high ratings Beat YourHost! is generating, it’s a big boost for the chan-nel’s image and brand.”

Besides generating a lot of buzz, game showscan offer a host of other advantages for a broad-caster, one of which is drawing in advertiserswith sponsorship tie-ins and product-placementopportunities.Avi Armoza, the CEO of ArmozaFormats, sees this as one of the biggest sellingpoints for the genre.

“Especially in today’s economic climate,game shows that incorporate product place-ment and advertiser sponsorship are veryattractive to broadcasters. With ad revenuesdropping by 25 percent around the world,advertisers are really foregoing the traditional‘30-second spot’ for the chance to becomemore involved in the content of TV shows.This can be through general sponsorship of ashow,or through individual product-placementspots for prizes, the hosts’ clothing, game-playelements (vehicles, mobile phones, etc.).”

Upgrade, one of Armoza’s most successfulgame shows, lends itself perfectly to productplacement. Upgrade surprises people in theirhomes with a trivia challenge, and correctanswers allow families to upgrade their shoddyappliances—TVs, living-room furniture, wash-ing machines.

“Upgrade relies heavily on the use of brand-new appliances and home furnishings, and partof our production notes explain how this con-cept can be matched with a sponsor like LGor GE and even tied into the sponsor’s web-site,” Armoza explains. “These sponsorshipdeals can change from territory to territory, butsome global brands could very well sponsor the

A host of fun: Family Feud is one of the longest-running game shows, and still performs well forFremantleMedia.


global rollout of the format, serving as thesponsor of each local version in each territory.These are the kinds of new funding packagesbeing looked at more and more by creators anddistributors.”

BACK TO THE BOARD Another selling point for game shows is built-in brand recognition. If a series is based on aclassic board game that has been around foryears, the show already has a fan base estab-lished right off the bat.This has certainly beenthe case for Debmar-Mercury International’sTrivial Pursuit:America Plays. Before the showmade its debut in U.S. syndication, Debmar-Mercury had secured eight internationaloptions for the format and presold the finishedU.S. version into two territories.

“It’s definitely the strength of the brand thathas driven the interest,” says Beata Hegedus, themanaging director of Debmar-Mercury Inter-national.“It’s an extremely powerful, globallyrecognized concept.”

Based on the popular Hasbro board game, thishalf-hour strip features questions exclusivelyfrom viewers, giving them the opportunity toplay—and win—from the comfort of their ownliving room.The classic board game has beenaround since the ’80s and now the TV version,Trivial Pursuit:America Plays, is giving legions ofloyal players the chance to reconnect with thebrand, as loyal viewers.

“Hasbro originally approached us throughthe William Morris Agency as a result of our

track record in producing hit shows for theU.S. and beyond,” Hegedus explains. “Thewhole aim was to maintain the original graph-ical elements of the board game, so for examplethe studio design is based on the board’s iconicfeatures. We then brought in new elements,such as audience participation and interactivity,to give it a more modern and fresh feel.”

While Trivial Pursuit made the move fromboard game to TV show, oftentimes the situa-tion happens the other way around. Gameshows lend themselves nicely to be spun offinto merchandise for at-home play.This areacan be a great source for extra revenue.

“There’s huge potential for ancillaries withgame shows,” says FremantleMedia’s Clark.“Ifyou look at The Price Is Right and Family Feudin terms of flexibility, they’re brands. Andbecause they’re brands, they’re usable in lots ofdifferent areas.”The Price Is Right has online andmobile extensions, and even a live Las Vegasstage show. Family Feud has a number of play-at-home gaming applications as well.

GET IN THE GAME The product extensions for game shows havemoved beyond traditional tabletop entertain-ment.Technology has helped add an array ofnew opportunities to extend the game-playexperience to viewers. Endemol’s Römer saysthere are merchandise extensions for nearly allthe company’s hit game shows, and many ofthese are far more advanced than the classicboard game. He explains,“1 vs. 100 on Xbox


Everyone’s a winner: Armoza Formats’ Upgrade goes into the homes of everyday families.

Live Primetime is a great example of how agame-show brand can be taken to the next levelby bringing TV game-show architecture into agame platform that is played in real time onXbox Live Primetime.”

Sony Pictures Television and 2waytraffichave been very innovative in using technologyto add to a show’s experience. Morley stressesthe role this plays in creating a hit brand.“Interactivity is hugely important.Ten or 20years ago, the only demand on a format wasthat it needed to be a good show. Now, ashow must be a 360-degree proposition—inother words, we must be able to package it sothat viewers can enjoy it not just on TV butalso online and on mobile—something we’vedone very successfully with Who Wants to Be aMillionaire? The kinds of interactive elementswe’ve incorporated have included introduc-ing online dragons in Dragons’ Den [a showthat sees entrepreneurs trying to secureinvestment from business experts] to breathesome extra fire into the business communitywhen the TV show is off the air.We’ve alsoenabled consumers to interact with ourbrands through physical and digital merchan-dise such as DVDs, board games, mobilegames, ring tones and mobile wallpapers,which are all part of our game-show portfolio.”

NEW PLAYERSIn these particularly challenging times, theadvantages game shows present have made themappealing to broadcasters. Demand is healthyacross daytime and prime-time slots for thesekinds of shows, and new distributors are addinggame shows to their slate to capitalize on thissuccess.The Brazilian media powerhouse GloboTV International has an established reputationfor its telenovelas, but the company has nowstarted distributing formats as well.

Globo kick-started its format-selling effortswith five titles, two of which were game shows.The Spelling Game puts entertainment and edu-cation together, and Xtreme Connection seespeople competing against celebrities in a vari-ety of challenges involving strength, intelli-gence and creativity.

“We want to bring alternative content to themarket,” says Raphael Corrêa, Globo’s director ofinternational sales, about moving into the formatsbusiness.“We don’t intend to be one of the biggestformat players in the world.We want to be a verygood partner for formats, and we want to be rec-ognized for the innovation and creativity that wecan bring to our partners.”

Globo’s entrance to the game-show arena isa further testament to the strength of the genrein today’s tough market.


Q&&A competition: The brand recognition of Trivial Pursuit: America Plays has been a winning elementfor Debmar-Mercury.


Paul Telegdy is known for his expertise in trans-Atlantic co-productions. When he worked for BBC Worldwide America, heoversaw the sale and launch of the ABC hit Dancing with theStars, which is based on the BBC format Strictly Come Dancing.He also executive produced Grease: You’re the One That IWant, adapted from another BBC format. As executive VP ofalternative programming at NBC and Universal Media Studios,Telegdy oversees NBC’s unscripted and specials programming,which this summer included several format-based titles, includ-ing I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!

TV FORMATS: When you are evaluating new alternativeconcepts, what are you looking for?TELEGDY: Reality programming is no longer a genre that theaudience in the U.S. sees as new and groundbreaking.So we stilllook for ingenuity and innovation as part of the basic conceptbecause even if our audience hasn’t seen the specific twist of ashow, our research shows that they will tell you they havealready heard of the concept,even if they haven’t.So that meansshows need to loom very bright in the area of ingenuity.

TV FORMATS: To what do you attribute the continued suc-cess of America’s Got Talent?TELEGDY: There are a number of reasons. It’s hugely enjoyable.There is a degree of innocence to what its purpose is, which isto provide a very democratic right of access.Where other talentshows have perhaps a number of different criteria for contestantsthat need to be met—whether they are amateurs, or profes-sionals, or [in a certain] age range—ours is just undiscovered tal-ent.We have kids,we have what we call seniors,[contestants of] allages and all shapes and sizes and all different talents.That pureinnocence of purpose, which is just to be wildly entertaining, is

one of the reasons people tune in,because they never know whatthey are going to see, so there is a sort of surprise. But one thingthey do know is that it will be produced to some scale and itwill be in our signature destination—which is the stage—andthey are going to see the judges that they know. It’s a kind offamiliarity that hasn’t bred contempt.

TV FORMATS: What are your plans for keeping The BiggestLoser fresh?TELEGDY: The main statement of purpose of that show is uni-formly clear: people with, in most cases, extreme weight prob-lems will go on a life-changing journey in which they will losethat weight.The ticket to ride on that show has a very clearstamp on it,but within that, there are all sorts of production vari-ations that can be used to drive the story in different ways.Theproducers brainstorm for hours and really raise the bar on thequality of ideas and the quality of challenges and the individualset pieces within the show, so that it all comes together to createa body of fresh ideas that inform the viewers’experience.As I say,the purpose of the show couldn’t be clearer. So thematicallyyou can change the approach, there are ways to draw in newaudience segments [by focusing on] family members,or couples.Basically this is a show that successfully holds a mirror up toAmerica in a way that at times is challenging and at times is dif-ficult to watch, but all of the hardcore fans, as well as the broadpublic, see elements of themselves in the people on the show.

TV FORMATS: It’s the human factor that is so appealing.TELEGDY: Yes, absolutely, and going back to what makes agreat colorful reality franchise, whether it’s America’s Got Tal-ent or The Biggest Loser, it’s real people and real humanity thatare very important factors in our shows’ DNA.

Second to that, and this is part of how we do differentiatebetween projects, it’s fundamentally positive.The experience ofThe Biggest Loser, for most participants and for the viewingaudience, is that it leaves you with positive outcomes.And then,as I said, there is ingenuity to it—The Biggest Loser was the firstweight-loss format to break big in prime time.

TV FORMATS24

By Anna Carugati

Finding the Right Formula

NBC’s Paul Telegdy

Seeking the spotlight: NBC came on board for its own versionof ITV’s I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! this summer.

TV FORMATS: What new shows are you excited about?TELEGDY: We are producing a show with Jerry Seinfeld,whichcertainly from an ingenuity point of view deserves to be on airbecause you haven’t seen it before,which is the show called TheMarriage Ref. [It draws] on Jerry’s own experience with the insti-tution of marriage and with that voice coming through,we willexamine real-life discussions between husband and wife that willring very,very familiar to our audience as the kinds of things thatoccasionally cause conflict.We will see real couples’ argumentscommented on by a panel of personalities.And they will comedown on a certain decision in what is meant to be a lightheartedcomedian’s court of decision-making within marital disputes.These are not heavy duty,“I hate you, I wish you would change,I’m leaving you,” [types] of marital disputes. Instead it’s,“Doyou really think that the vase looks good there?”It’s dealing withissues of passive aggression and differences of opinion in ahumorous way. Now I’ve not seen that concept before and Iwatch a lot of TV, so I’m excited about it because the potentialto entertain with real people and comedians is something thatwe see as having novelty. Of course, working with probably thebest-loved brand of comedy in all of the U.S. is something thatis exciting from a creative point of view.

TV FORMATS: And going back to the human factor, we canall relate to that.TELEGDY: Absolutely, I would rate most people’s relation-ships a B- and maybe with a little help they can get to an A.Everyone wishes their relationship were a little better andeveryone takes a kind of pragmatic lighthearted view aboutcontinuing relationships and yes, people [get into] real prob-lems [over issues that aren’t really that big].

TV FORMATS: How many arguments have started becauseof a vase!TELEGDY: If there was a handbook that answered the ques-tion,“Does my bum look big in this dress?” that’s what we’retrying to do! What am I meant to say? “Yes, it does look big,but in a good way!” Or “No, it’s tiny.” [Laughs] To which thereply could be,“Are you saying I have a small bum?” Theseare the mysteries that we are seeking to address in the show!

TV FORMATS: Why has theU.K.become such a major sourcefor entertainment ideas?TELEGDY: Because of the eco-nomics of U.K. television, lightentertainment—big shiny stu-dio shows, prime-time enter-tainment other than scripteddrama and comedy—has been amainstay of British televisionfor 40 years and it never wentaway. Going back to a differentera, it was also on Americantelevision, but then it went awayfor a long time, while it didn’tgo away from British television.That was out of economic neces-sity, because the BBC or ITVand, lastly, Channel 4, couldn’tafford to have just drama andcomedy on, they had to do all

sorts of different things. Part of that was also public pur-pose in the case of the BBC, which generated interestingforms of entertainment.

That heritage, both from a developmental and a practicalpoint of view, never went away.When American televisionchanged to a more similar economic model [less reliant onexpensive scripted dramas and comedies] the main sourcefor ideas, in a short space of time, happened to be the U.K.

But as someone who grew up with European television, Iremember when Endemol was producing largely for DutchTV, and they attained global status by producing for networksin the U.K.The U.K. may have been the English-languagegateway for ideas from elsewhere in Europe.

Survivor,which was one of the major watersheds in U.S. real-ity television, was based on a U.K. format, which was takenfrom a Swedish format—so Sweden to the U.K. to the U.S.Pop Idol became big on ITV and the rest is history, and thenStrictly Come Dancing became Dancing with the Stars. But theU.K. now faces its own issues, which are similar to the issuesthe U.S. is facing. Having big hit franchises, whether it’s StrictlyCome Dancing, or The X Factor, or Britain’s Got Talent, whichis actually based on America’s Got Talent, means there is limitedreal estate for innovation on those big shows, so you don’tsee a lot of new ideas coming through.

TV FORMATS: Are there other markets you look at as well?TELEGDY: Yes, we take pitches from producers all over theworld.We have a Belgian format in development, a Japaneseformat in development and an Italian format in development.But no market mirrors exactly another market in terms offragmentation or distribution.The U.S.with five, arguably six,terrestrial networks, is nothing like Germany, where thereare 20 terrestrial networks, but there is a huge [number] ofbig cable players in America. So you can’t look [at a show]and say that was a hit there and therefore it will be a hithere....But you can look at concepts that feel like they’ve hadeither pop-culture traction or that you just loved because youloved watching it—there is the sort of visceral element ofbuying shows, which is,“Hey I like that!” And you couplethat with audience [research].


Making it big: The Biggest Loser hasbecome NBC’s signature reality franchise.

TV FORMATS26


As one of the first studios to set up local-language productionsaround the world, Sony Pictures Television (SPT) quickly learnedthe value of taking a successful show from one country and adapt-ing it to another. It started tapping into its library of hit sitcoms,such as The Nanny, and produced them to considerable successin a number of territories.

More recently, SPT acquired 2waytraffic and MichaelDavies’ Embassy Row, thereby expanding further intothe unscripted arena. SPT’s president, Steve Mosko,talks about increasing the company’s format business.

TV FORMATS: Why has it been important forSony to get involved in formats and the unscriptedbusiness?MOSKO: If you look at American television, morethan 25 percent of the schedules of the broadcastnetworks consists of unscripted programming, andunscripted makes up a big chunk of the cable net-works’ programming as well.As a studio, if we werejust in the scripted business, we’d see the availabletime periods slowly slipping away and we wouldn’tbe able to compete.And on top of that, it’s a goodbusiness. People don’t realize this—we have twoof the most successful worldwide formats knownto man in Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy! We’vebeen in this business, but in the past we didn’t reallydive into it.Now,because of what American televisionis going through and the amount of [slots] dedicatedto unscripted programming, and the potential tobuild out a worldwide format business, we are div-

ing into it headfirst. 2waytraffic was a big step in that direc-tion because it gave us reach with its various productioncompanies and distribution throughout the world. MichaelDavies is a prolific producer, particularly of game shows, asseen in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? There is a real businessthere and we would be shortchanging our ability to grow ourtelevision business if we weren’t involved in it.

TV FORMATS: Tell us about Dragons’Den,which was adaptedfor the U.S. market.MOSKO: It’s a terrific format. Some time ago I sat down withMark Burnett and said, “We would love to be in businesswith you. Is there a format in our library that would get yourblood pressure going and that might be something you wouldbe interested in producing?”

Long story short, he loved the Dragons’ Den format.We’veadapted it as Shark Tank to American television.Mark is unbe-lievable to work with. He’s a consummate professional, heunderstands this business, understands how all the pieceswork together. It’s been a great partnership.

TV FORMATS: What challenges and opportunities do yousee in the format business today? It’s not “flavor of themonth,” is it? It’s become an established business.MOSKO: A while ago, some of us on the studio side were indenial.We thought that this would come and go and that itwas just cheap programming that was going to help the bot-tom line at the networks.The reality is, no pun intended,that that’s far from the case.These shows are not only part ofnetwork schedules, they are part of our culture here andaround the world.A lot of these reality shows have becomewatercooler shows.Whether it’s American Idol or Dancingwith the Stars or Survivor, those are shows that are top ofmind for folks.

This is in no way to say scripted shows have been margin-alized; it’s just that people really enjoy watching reality shows.They are not going away. Reality is only going to get better,

TV FORMATS28

By Anna Carugati

Unscripted Success

Sony’s Steve Mosko

Question time: 2waytraffic, now a division of Sony Pictures Entertainment,has a diverse array of formats for MIPCOM, including Mr & Mrs.

and I can see more people jumping into it and it getting morecompetitive. It’s a business we have to be in.

TV FORMATS: What advantages does a studio like Sony havewhen competing with the FremantleMedias and Endemols ofthis world? MOSKO: In terms of advantages, certainly having a deeplibrary helps us a lot, as does having the expertise of people

who have worked on Wheel ofFortune and Jeopardy! and Million-aire. It all comes down to execut-ing and delivering great shows.We’ve established the fact that weare serious about getting into thisbusiness, and we’ve given thepeople who work with us all thetools to make great shows. Hav-ing 2waytraffic as a first-classinternational distributor was ahuge step for us. It spoke to ourcommitment to being in thisbusiness, and we’ve made a cou-ple of big overall deals that wewill be announcing soon.And itspeaks to the fact that this is agreat place to be. A lot of it isabout environment and provid-ing the proper place for people to

flourish creatively and let them do their thing, and I thinkthat’s what’s great about Michael Davies being able to comehere.A lot of these people were entrepreneurs, and so the trickis to make sure that they keep their entrepreneurial spiritwhile at the same time working within a corporate environ-ment.That is the main challenge for us. It’s worked very, verywell with Michael and it’s worked great—although it’s a one-off project—with Mark Burnett.


Moneymakers: SPT partnered with Mark Burnett for the Americanversion of Dragons’ Den, which airs on ABC as Shark Tank.

TV FORMATS30

By KristinBrzoznowski

With its acquisition of the Dutch outfit 2waytraf-fic, Sony Pictures Entertainment ramped up itsinternational-production initiatives. As executiveVP and chief creative officer of international pro-duction for Sony Pictures Television (SPT), MikeMorley plays a hand in developing formats thatcan fit in a host of international territories. AnEndemol veteran, Morley knows quite well whatelements can give a concept worldwide appeal.

TV FORMATS: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?is an undisputed global phenomenon.To whatdo you attribute its popularity?MORLEY: It’s a great show! Simple as that. Fullof jeopardy,drama and aspiration.It’s a true classic.Two major factors in the worldwide popularity ofWho Wants to Be a Millionaire? are that we havebeen able to successfully localize the show while

remaining true to the format and the brand, andour ability to keep it fresh.What has appealed topeople worldwide is that the concept of the showis very simple, yet the audience and viewers athome are on the edge of their seats as the excite-ment and tension builds.We’ve demonstrated ourability to take our format brands to a global audi-ence not only with Who Wants to Be a Million-aire? but with other successful shows such as Mr &Mrs,Dragons’Den and The Dating Game.

TV FORMATS: SPT/2waytraffic is very inno-vative with using technology. How impor-tant is interactivity nowadays with gameshows, and what sort of interactive elementsdo you incorporate? MORLEY: Interactivity is hugely important.Ten or 20 years ago, the only demand on aformat was that it needed to be a good show.Now a show must be a 360-degree proposi-tion—in other words, we must be able topackage it so that viewers can enjoy it not juston TV but also online and on mobile—some-

thing we’ve done very successfully with WhoWants to Be a Millionaire?

The kinds of interactive elements we’veincorporated have included introducing onlinedragons in Dragons’ Den to breathe some extrafire into the business community when the TVshow is off the air. We’ve also enabled con-sumers to interact with our brands throughphysical and digital merchandise such as DVDs,board games, mobile games, ring tones andmobile wallpapers, which are all part of ourgame-show portfolio.

TV FORMATS: What new game-show titlesdo you have for MIPCOM, and how do thesestand out from the pack?MORLEY: For MIPCOM, SPT will be high-lighting The Wall, Give & Take and You’ve BeenFaked, as well as The Dating Game, which willhave some new elements.With its recent suc-cessful ratings in the U.K., we’re also offeringMr & Mrs to the market, which provides fan-tastic, all-round family entertainment and aunique and humorous insight into the lives ofdifferent kinds of couples. And we’re sellingChain Reaction, which is all about linking aseries of both minor and major events in onelong chain without any breaks.This is a grip-ping show that provides a true spectacle forprime-time television viewing.

Mike MorleyExecutive VP & Chief Creative Officer,International ProductionSony Pictures Television

Last year, when Lee Bartlett joined theU.K.’s leading commercial broadcaster, ITV,he brought with him years of experienceworking in the U.S. market, many spent cre-ating and adapting formats. In his role asmanaging director of ITV Studios, he isapplying that expertise to several ITV shows,which he is launching as global brands. Hebelieves that in this challenged advertisingmarket, which is forcing risk-averse buyersto be more selective than ever, a good formatwith a proven track record provides a win-win solution for distributors and buyers.

TV FORMATS: When you are trying tocreate global hits, do unscripted formatsusually lend themselves better than scripted?BARTLETT: The general rule is yes, for acouple of reasons.You can create a format

and get it on the air in a pretty short period of time,becauseyou are not writing anything. If it’s a hit in the country in whichit initially airs then you can sell that very quickly. So,obviously, ifITV [programmers are] willing to put the format on the air in theU.K. it means that they think it’s got legs in the U.K.And thenonce it’s aired here, and its ratings are good, it’s easier to adapt itto the international marketplace—to mount the show doesn’ttake very long.And we have producers who go out and helpbroadcasters do that.

TV FORMATS: And what are the advantages and disadvan-tages of scripted formats?BARTLETT: The disadvantage to drama is that you have towrite the script and that takes several months.Then it takesfour or five months to produce it, and by the time you are fin-ished editing it, the whole process takes quite some time beforeit actually goes on the air. So the time frame for drama is verylong.When you then turn around and sell the format, you arelicensing the format along with scripts. Only certain countriesare going to buy those ideas, and dramas can be very country-specific, so it takes a lot of rewriting the scripts.And the payoff,from a format point of view, isn’t as good when you producescripted as it is to produce unscripted formats.

On the other hand, with scripted, you start to build up alibrary of finished episodes of these series that you can turnaround and sell as well.

The piece that works better, and I think this is unique toITV, is we have a deep library of very famous dramas thathave been produced over the years.We had three of them onthe air last year in the U.S. While selling and producingscripted formats is a slower process, in many respects, it’s moresatisfying because drama is the heart of television. Scripted isa little bit harder, but when it hits, it hits really well. If youtake a U.S. example, Desperate Housewives, Disney has made alot of money selling the finished episodes and selling the for-

mat. And if you have a production company in a country,then you can make a production fee because you produce itfor them. So you have a couple of revenue streams.

TV FORMATS: You are a fan of the format business.Whydo you like it so much?BARTLETT: Take a show like Come Dine with Me, which is aU.K. show. It is done in one way and emphasizes a certain groupof characters and traditions that are particularly British in theirmentality.And then you turn around and you do the same pro-gram with the same basic idea of people going to other people’shouses to cook a meal and create a nice evening, and you tailorthat to fit how German people would entertain. So you had thebasic idea and yet you tailored it to different audiences.

TV FORMATS: Why does this work so well as a business?BARTLETT: The reason... is that you developed it originally forone country and you’ve been able to test it.Then you can sellit to other countries based on the ratings it got in the country ofits origin.And you can have a format fee, but again, even moreimportantly, if you have a production company in the countrywhere the show is being broadcast, you can produce it and geta production fee and you have the finished episodes that you canalso turn around and sell. So it’s a very interesting business fromthat point of view.And particularly nowadays,when broadcastersare hesitant to take a lot of risk because the advertising market isso difficult, if you can give them something that has been provenin one country, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will work intheir country, but the chances are better—you’ve cut your odds,so to speak—so that is why I particularly like formats.

TV FORMATS: Even with limited budgets, what are buyerslooking for and how can ITV Studios help them fill their needs?BARTLETT: First of all, as I said, because the advertising marketsare so tight, foreign broadcasters don’t want to take a lot of risk.They want something that is proven and they need to be able tosee it on tape.We have two pilots that ran in the U.K.that are bothgame shows. One was called The Chase and the other was calledThe Fuse. Both of them aired in the U.K. and both rated well.They will be part of our MIPCOM slate.

TV FORMATS: And what information about these formatsdo you provide buyers?BARTLETT: We have a sizzle reel for them and we have allthe demographic information.There will be all the materialbuyers need and they can actually see episodes of these shows,so they will have a much better idea of what they are going toget than if I just gave them a piece of paper and said,This iswhat the format is.

We also target the specific networks that buy these typesof programs.We know what time slots they work in. If theshow is made for late afternoon here in the U.K., we knowthat by tweaking it this way or that way it can be made as aprime-time show.

Our salespeople and the brochures we have on our websitewill tell you all of this.We focus on ideas that have workedsomeplace else, especially in the U.K. or the U.S., and offer allthe demographic and ratings information behind them andprovide actual episodes that can be seen.This is the best wayto sell.We have a lot of formats, but we target them for salesonly if we have good ratings information for them.


TV FORMATS32

Formatting Hits

ITV’s Lee BartlettBy Anna Carugati

The Turkish-based GlobalAgency is keen to become amajor player in the formatmarket with its slate of realitytitles, led by Perfect Bride.Known in its original Turkishas Gelinim olur musun, theshow provides a twist to thedating reality genre, putting abunch of single women in ahouse along with a group ofsingle men—and their moth-ers.The finale of the format’sdebut season clinched a 71.7-percent market share.

At the time of Perfect Bride’sdebut, Izzet Pinto was work-ing as a successful literary

agent, representing a number of best-selling authors in Turkey.When he was asked about trying his hand at representing aTV show,Pinto jumped at the opportunity to score the inter-national rights to the Perfect Bride format. It was a fortuitousfirst step into the TV business. Pinto first signed up Italy, thena pan-regional Middle Eastern version and then Korea; intotal, Global Agency has sold the show to 19 territories.

With proof of a track record on Perfect Bride, Pinto was soonbeing approached by numerous other producers in Turkey whowere hoping to turn their homegrown ideas into internationalhits. Pinto says he rejects about “99 percent” of the pitches hereceives, but notes that “1 percent are amazing.”

One title that caught his attention was My WeddingWitness Is My Ex, in which divorced couples arehoused together with a view to creating some newhappy couples. “In one month I sold it to the U.S.,Canada and Germany,” Pinto states.

Also in the catalogue is Super Talented, which searchesfor what Pinto calls “mega-talented stars, who havemultiple talents, from singing to acting, fashion designto talk-show host to stand-up comedian.” He also hashigh hopes for The Big Challenge, which takes 12 indi-viduals and packs them off to far-flung destinationswith $1,000 and nothing else.“They don’t have a placeto stay, they don’t have food to eat.They’ll find outhow hard it is to make money in those countries.Every week we check on how much money they areleft with.The person with the least money leaves everyweek.At the end of the show, whoever has the biggestamount wins.”

The newest addition to Global Agency’s catalogue isChoosing My Religion, which puts ten atheists in a housewith a priest, a rabbi, an imam and a Buddhist monkfor ten weeks.At the end of the period, the contestantsare given a choice: remain an atheist or convert?

“My biggest goal is to represent more format creators,” saysPinto on his plans for developing the business. His motto forthe kinds of titles he wants to offer broadcasters? “We bringyou formats that create buzz.”

Pinto is also eager to show what Turkey can contribute tothe global format marketplace.“The cool thing about Turkeyis we connect Europe to Asia.We’re in a place where we mixold-fashioned ideas with today’s culture, which is perfect.Turkey has great potential to create unique ideas.”

Pinto also wants to help format creators avoid having theirideas stolen. “The minute you score huge ratings in onecountry, copycat versions start entering the market,” he says.“You have to be fast.You have to enter many countries quicklyto be called the original. It’s not easy to find the next bigthing.Therefore I urge the networks to give importance tobuying the original formats and reject the copycat versions.”

While keenly aware of an economic climate that is put-ting immense pressures on broadcasters’ production budgets,Pinto is feeling upbeat about negotiating through these chal-lenging times. “My company is fairly new, with just threeyears of history,” he notes.“We are on a rising scale in termsof revenues, and we expect to grow fast even in these hardtimes.As long as you come up with great formats and con-trol the expenses, you can survive in this tough economy.”

When asked about the strategies he is employing to remainsuccessful, Pinto says, “We employ people with successfulbackgrounds, advertise more, travel more to visit clients,reserve bigger stands, represent great formats, are very selec-tive and work day and night!”

Broadening the Playing Field

Global Agency’sIzzet Pinto

TV FORMATS34

By Mansha Daswani


The ex-factor: Global Agency’s new slate of formats for MIPCOMincludes My Wedding Witness Is My Ex.

TV Formats October 2009

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