K7 Media: What is Trending in the World of International Formats?

Covering both the non-scripted as well as the scripted side of the business, at K7 Media we often get asked – what’s next? For a number of years this question was formulated in a more direct manner – what’s the next big thing? Over time, hopes for the ‘big thing’ have faded, along with increasing changes in audience behaviour, which in turn have led to a fragmentation in viewing to an extent never experienced before.

Scripted and unscripted: friends or foes?
Another hot question causing headaches for producers and distributors of non-scripted shows in particular has been – what if the ‘golden age of scripted’ continues to go on and on and on? Will there still be enough demand for non-scripted programming? Historically we’ve mostly seen scripted and non-scripted as relatively strictly defined areas, in constant seesaw competition with each other –one tops the rating charts while the other feels a bit neglected, until the balance switches once again. Are we going to see another swing coming anytime soon? Not necessarily. Why? Because, similarly to the world in general, our industry has become far less predictable, and established codes and borders are breaking.
Never before have the scripted and unscripted genres been ‘flirting’ with each other to the extent which we see these days. Scripted shows are increasingly based on, or ‘inspired by’, true events; drama commissioners are looking for ‘authenticity’, ‘hyper-locality’ and scripts that resonate with the current state of the world, all of which hangs naturally with factual programming. When it comes to non-scripted shows, we see them successfully borrowing the storytelling tools and techniques more traditionally associated with scripted production. Cliff-hangers, a serialised approach, unpredictability versus a clearly-formatted sequence of events and games – all these have become common in an effort to both adapt to current viewing habits and crack the binging code, which non-scripted programming has been struggling with so far. Examples include soap opera-style reality show Love Island, and thrillers like Hunted.  

A shift in unscripted trends
When focusing in on other major shifts in non-scripted formats, there are two trends that stand out in particular. These are: fun and feel-good entertainment, replacing cut throat contests, and a broader focus on society and its sustainability, rather than individual benefits when it comes to factual entertainment. Both of these are well represented in the recent issue of K7’s Tracking the Giants – the Top 100 Travelling TV Formats, the definitive guide to the fastest-moving global formats and most successful distributors.

Edgy competitiveness is out, feel-good family fun is in
Analysing the trends of more recent shows, we have observed a tendency to replace the edgy competitiveness and tough language of jurors that goes with the stress of winning that ‘all or nothing’ cash sum or rocketing to stardom on talent contests and quiz and game shows, with positive emotion, feel-good fun, participants and even jury members enjoying the game play for its own sake. The trend, which emerged some time ago with The Great Bake Off, culminated last year, with three out of the four most sold formats ticking this box, including Got Talent and All Together Now, each or them achieving eight new versions globally. Another contender in the same space – the French feel-good studio show The Secret Song, became the most optioned format in 2019, with 11 countries considering production. The change in tone towards funnier and more entertaining has also been a key ingredient of success in securing the impressive comeback of Family Feud recently.
However, the year undoubtedly belonged to The Masked Singer – the format which has been taking over the whole world in 2019, with 22 local versions confirmed within less than a year, and many more to be revealed within the coming months. The Masked Singer has considerably boosted the declining linear broadcasters’ confidence that fresh non-scripted ideas can still bring very prominent audience numbers to scheduled television in almost every market. However, the danger we see here is that the format’s success may be turning into a rush towards milking this success while it lasts; with many broadcasters recommissioning further series without letting the show (and its audiences) take a proper break between the seasons. What’s even more worrying is the current euphoria around everything that’s ‘masked’. With The Masked Dancer already on its way, let’s hope that what started as a brilliantly fresh twist, will not turn into a race for ‘what’s the next thing we can do in disguise’.

 

Factual entertainment looks outwards towards societal and generational issues
The second spot on the most sold non-scripted formats list of 2019 belongs to the Flemish format Emergency Call which achieved ten new versions. It is set in an emergency response call centre and observes the work of the call takers. The show’s success confirms the current trend in factual which sees subject matter shifting from individual concerns to a view of life, society and the planet through a much wider lens. Unsurprisingly, ‘society’ and ‘generations’ are two of the loudest buzzwords on the current format scene, with the premise of shows often playing a secondary role to the bigger purpose they carry under their factual or even entertaining facade. Formats like Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds, which makes us think about what can we all do together to fight loneliness and extend the quality of life in an ageing society, or Lego Masters – which uses its simple game play as a platform to provide an opportunity for generations to communicate, spend time together and understand each other - show a slightly lower but stable sales growth all the same.
It’s no big news that the format market is more fragmented than ever. The Top 100 unscripted formats we tracked have secured only a little more than 26 per cent of total deals closed during 2019. This means that every three out of four new deals have been won by formats outside this Top 100. Altogether we have spotted 128 formats that secured at least one new deal in a new territory last year.

The characteristics of a well-travelled format
So what is it that makes non-scripted formats travel? Obviously, there is no such thing as ‘one size fits all’. Nevertheless, we are certainly spotting some qualities that bring success to a format on more than one occasion. Simplicity, flexibility, scalability, constant evolving and, where applicable, a natural playalong element, along with strong storytelling, definitely help. In a fragmented broadcast landscape, licensees are looking for shows that stand out and can quickly be associated with their channel. The formats also need to be able to connect with audiences immediately, since in many markets series runs tends to become shorter as channels try to be more flexible and mobile to react to changing market conditions. Similar to scripted shows, viewers expect to see strong characters, witness unmissable moments, hear revealing stories behind the show’s participants and relate to them. Finally, viewers don’t like to be tricked by constructed, artificially imposed interactivity. It may be a better idea to completely drop a play along element when it doesn’t come naturally.

What comes next?
In the coming years  we expect to see even more variety in terms of tone and voice, horizontal as well as vertical viewing, variation in series length and episode duration, including short form, as well as ‘short form first’ with adaptations for longer ‘big screen’ versions to follow. Paying increasing attention to brand building is going to be key, with strong brands occupying several screens, mutating into spin-offs, as well as providing a variety of off-screen experiences (including products and services), in order to extend a format’s lifespan.

If you would like to request a copy of K7 Media’s Tracking the Giants Report 2019-20, please follow this link: https://k7.media/tracking_the_giants/