TV format
Encyclopedia
A TV format describes the overall concept, premise and branding of a copyrighted television program
.
The format is licensed by TV networks, so that they may produce a version of the show tailored to their nationality and audience. Formats are a major part of the international television market. Format purchasing is popular with broadcasters, due principally to:
Leading companies that handle the creation and sales of programming formats include Endemol
and FremantleMedia
.
, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
, Pop Idol
and Big Brother
that have all proved successful worldwide.
Particular models in the genre of sitcoms are often sold as formats, enabling broadcasters to adapt them to the perceived tastes of their own audience. An example is The Office
, a BBC
sitcom which got adapted as the The Uffice US, Le Bureau
in France, Stromberg
in Germany, La Job
in Quebec and La Ofis in Chile.
(IP) which are regularly bought and sold by TV producers, distribution company and broadcasters, they are very hard to protect in law. As a result, copy-cat formats are sometimes created, which seek to duplicate the success of an original format without paying the rights-holder of the original format.
Television formats such as The X-Factor
or Britain's Got Talent
are extremely popular with audiences. Over the last decade, the UK has emerged as the world's major format developer, accounting for between 20-50% of all format hours broadcast annually worldwide. Also, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire was recreated in 108 territories while local versions of Idols have aired (over 129 series) in 42 territories receiving about three illion] votes, most notable being American Idol
.
Yet, there is no such thing as a television format right under copyright
law. Any television producer is free to develop game, reality and talent shows that are based on similar ideas. "If no such rights exist, then the commercial rate for the format, at least from a legal point of view, is zero."
Researchers from Bournemouth University
(Prof. Martin Kretschmer, Dr Sukhpreet Singh and Jonathan Wardle) in UK studied the exploitation of television formats under an ESRC (UK) grant. The study created a database of 59 reported format disputes between 1988 (when the issue of TV format rights first surfaced in the landmark legal case of Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand) and 2008.
The Format Recognition and Protection Association
(FRAPA) aims to protect rights to formats and lobbies for legal protection.
Television program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
.
The format is licensed by TV networks, so that they may produce a version of the show tailored to their nationality and audience. Formats are a major part of the international television market. Format purchasing is popular with broadcasters, due principally to:
- the lower risk and extra revenue potential associated with an already-proven idea;
- the preference of national audiences to watch national programming (as opposed to broadcasting the original, foreign version of the show);
- the ability to tailor a show for a particular market.
Leading companies that handle the creation and sales of programming formats include Endemol
Endemol
Endemol is an international television production and distribution company based in the Netherlands, with subsidiaries and joint ventures in 23 countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Mexico, Spain, Italy, Germany, Brazil, Chile, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Poland,...
and FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia
FremantleMedia, Ltd. is the content and production division of Bertelsmann's RTL Group, Europe's second largest TV, radio, and production company...
.
Common formats
The most common type of format are those in the television genre of game shows, many of which are remade in multiple markets with local contestants. Recent examples include SurvivorSurvivor (TV series)
Survivor is a reality television game show format produced in many countries throughout the world. In the show, contestants are isolated in the wilderness and compete for cash and other prizes. The show uses a system of progressive elimination, allowing the contestants to vote off other tribe...
, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers large cash prizes for correctly answering a series of multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. The format is owned and licensed by Sony Pictures Television International. The maximum cash prize is one million pounds...
, Pop Idol
Pop Idol
Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...
and Big Brother
Big Brother (TV series)
Big Brother is a television show in which a group of people live together in a large house, isolated from the outside world but continuously watched by television cameras. Each series lasts for around three months, and there are usually fewer than 15 participants. The housemates try to win a cash...
that have all proved successful worldwide.
Particular models in the genre of sitcoms are often sold as formats, enabling broadcasters to adapt them to the perceived tastes of their own audience. An example is The Office
The Office (UK TV series)
The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
, a BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
sitcom which got adapted as the The Uffice US, Le Bureau
Le Bureau
Le Bureau was a 2006 French television show that aired on Canal+. It is a French version of the popular British television series The Office...
in France, Stromberg
Stromberg (TV series)
Stromberg is a German television series which is produced by Brainpool and broadcast on the commercial television channel ProSieben. The series was proclaimed as a copy of the BBC series The Office, although initially the producers claimed it was based on a character from a past ProSieben comedy,...
in Germany, La Job
La Job
La Job is a French Canadian comedy television series set in Montreal. It is an adaptation of the British show The Office of the BBC. Produced by Anne-Marie Losique's Image Diffusion International, it has been broadcast for a limited number of viewers on Bell TV satellite television, beginning on...
in Quebec and La Ofis in Chile.
Legal issues
While TV formats are a form of intellectual propertyIntellectual property
Intellectual property is a term referring to a number of distinct types of creations of the mind for which a set of exclusive rights are recognized—and the corresponding fields of law...
(IP) which are regularly bought and sold by TV producers, distribution company and broadcasters, they are very hard to protect in law. As a result, copy-cat formats are sometimes created, which seek to duplicate the success of an original format without paying the rights-holder of the original format.
Television formats such as The X-Factor
The X Factor (TV series)
The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
or Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent
Britain's Got Talent is a British television talent show competition which started in June 2007 and originated from the Got Talent series. The show is produced by FremantleMedia's TalkbackThames and Simon Cowell's production company SYCOtv. The show is broadcast on ITV in Britain and TV3 in Ireland...
are extremely popular with audiences. Over the last decade, the UK has emerged as the world's major format developer, accounting for between 20-50% of all format hours broadcast annually worldwide. Also, Who Wants To Be a Millionaire was recreated in 108 territories while local versions of Idols have aired (over 129 series) in 42 territories receiving about three illion] votes, most notable being American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
Yet, there is no such thing as a television format right under copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
law. Any television producer is free to develop game, reality and talent shows that are based on similar ideas. "If no such rights exist, then the commercial rate for the format, at least from a legal point of view, is zero."
Researchers from Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University
Bournemouth University is a university in and around the large south coast town of Bournemouth, UK...
(Prof. Martin Kretschmer, Dr Sukhpreet Singh and Jonathan Wardle) in UK studied the exploitation of television formats under an ESRC (UK) grant. The study created a database of 59 reported format disputes between 1988 (when the issue of TV format rights first surfaced in the landmark legal case of Green v Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand) and 2008.
The Format Recognition and Protection Association
Format Recognition and Protection Association
The Format Recognition and Protection Association is a television industry trade association that helps protect the intellectual property of television formats.FRAPA co-sponsors the C21 Media International Format Awards....
(FRAPA) aims to protect rights to formats and lobbies for legal protection.
See also
- List of British television series remade for the U.S. market
- List of U.S. television series remade for the British market
- Radio formatRadio formatA radio format or programming format not to be confused with broadcast programming describes the overall content broadcast on a radio station. Radio formats are frequently employed as a marketing tool, and constantly evolve...