Who wants to be a Millionaire, Big Brother, Pop Idol, The Wakest Link and Other Programme Formats now Dominate the Global Television Industry
London, UK, 12 April 2005 .
ScreenDigest
Broadcasters' prime-time slots are increasingly being filled with formatted programmes and this trend shows no signs of letting up. 'The Global Trade in Television Formats,' a new report from media researchers Screen Digest and FRAPA (Format Recognition and Protection Association) has found that the number of formatted shows broadcast during the past 3 years has risen by 35%*. The global format business was worth €2.4b in 2004.
Leading the way is 'Who Wants to be a Millionaire', developed by Celador Productions of the UK. The show has been distributed to 106 different countries worldwide. Close behind is the BBC's 'The Weakest Link' which has now been distributed in 98 markets. The other top formatted shows include Endemol's Big Brother (distributed in 23 countries) and Thames / 19 TV's Idols (distributed in 30 countries).
The incredible success of Big Brother and Who Wants to be a Millionaire were critical in sparking the global trade in television formats in the late 1990s and helped to shape the format business as we know it today. The success of these two programmes also opened up the US market to European television formats.
The success of formats is a European and particularly a British success story - during the past three years 29% of all formats broadcast originated in the UK and 19% originated in the Netherlands - home to Endemol, the world's leading format company. It dominates the format business and is the largest single originator, distributor and producer of formats in the world. The UK is the world's most important format exporter, while Germany is the biggest format importer.
On the back of 'Millionaire's' success it is perhaps not surprising that game shows are by far and away the most important format genre. Between 2002 and 2004, 50% of format hours broadcast were games shows. Reality shows are the second most popular format genre - in the same period, 24% of all format hours broadcast were reality shows. The two fastest growing genres are Makeover shows, such as Fremantle's The Swan (growth of 1400%) and home improvement / makeover shows (growth of 210%).
Daniel Schmitt, Screen Digest Analyst and one of the report's authors states: "The format industry is here to stay and the rapid growth in the volume and value of the format business in the last three years is testament to an industry going from strength to strength."
A series of legal challenges have so far failed to create any unified regulatory approach to the protection of formats. The industry continues to rely on gentlemen's agreements and market forces to protect television formats. Rulings in one country may completely contradict those in another. By its very nature, the format trade between countries needs pan-regional regulation and the industry is now of a size that requires regulators to finally sit up and take notice.
Christoph Fey, co-author of the report and Managing Director of FRAPA states: "Protecting the legal rights of format developers is a minefield that is not for the faint-hearted. The international trade in formats requires international regulation and law-makers need to realise that the €2.4bn industry that is the global format trade needs proper protection."
*The report covers the following countries only: USA, Australia, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Poland.
