Format Sales: Adaptation & Innovation

Michel Rodrigue President Distraction Formats Canada

Can you give us 2 titles that had the biggest success in national adaptations in 2006?

"Love Bugs" was clearly a huge hit for TNT in 2006 and we were very pleased with the way that the format was able to expand beyond the broadcast environment to encompass interactive and mobile opportunities.  The market shares were pretty impressive at around 20% and the take-up of interactive applications by the audience was also very pleasing. "Love Bugs" also did well for LNT in Latvia with market shares of over 25% I hope that ICTV will soon see similar success to TNT with their interactive exploitation in the Ukraine. 

Love Bugs / Russian Version (Sasha + Masha)

"Ciao Darwin ", the Saturday night prime time extravaganza format from Italy also experienced a good year in 2006.  The Hungarian production on TV2 has run for 4 series, attaining market shares of up to 36%.  Four series have also been run on Romania 's TVR and the format was also a hit for TVN Poland.

In how many countries these shows were adapted? 

"Love Bugs" has been sold in over 30 countries now whilst "Ciao Darwin" has been sold in over 6.  It is a testament to the strength of the formats that in both cases, the productions were renewed many times over.

What are the reasons of success of these products in these countries?  

Certainly simplicity of concept is important.  A strong central idea and the exploration of universal themes ensure that the productions are relevant in every country.  However, producing a format that is consistently successful requires much more than just the idea. 

Many elements must be drawn together to create a hit and the skill of the format distributor lies in bringing all these elements together at exactly the right time. There must be a passionate and skilled producer, who believes in and wholeheartedly understands the essence of the format and there must be a willing broadcaster, who is prepared to nurture and promote the new format.  I also can't overemphasize the importance of a consultancy in production, the experience of the original producer is invaluable to a new production team and ensures a new production is as polished and as smooth as possible with therefore every chance of success.

Can you tell us about advantages / difficulties of adaptation of your products for local cultures?  

I would say that producing formats for different cultures is all about a balance.  It is important to respect the integrity of the or i ginal format and to retain the core elements which have after all made that format a success in its original territory.  However, I would also say that there is a benefit to being flexible. Not every culture is the same, and scenes, styles and tones need to be adapted to allow for that.  For example, whilst "Love Bugs" encompasses the universal theme of Love and of relationships between men and women, not all the locations for the episodes are appropriate for different cultures and it is necessary to be sensitive to that and allow a gym scene to be replaced or an intimate bathroom scene to be dropped. To revert to your last question, as long as the producer really feels the format and understands its essence, the balance of localizing it is easy to manage.

What are the coming trends in localization of fiction and formats in Western Europe and in Eastern Europe ?

I believe that the age of the scripted format has come.  With the recent appearance of some pretty interesting scripted formats such as "Law and Order" and "Ugly Betty" are now being sold as formats as opposed to just as ready-to-air programming.  This heralds both success and also a challenge for the localization of fiction formats.  As the market opens up we should see more local productions which are nothing but a good thing.  The challenge now lies in finding ever more intelligent and sensitive fiction formats to satisfy an increasingly demanding international audience on its own, local terms.