In the past year, The Traitors reigned supreme was the top selling format, while Banijay took top honors as the most successful distributor and reality was the preferred genre. These and all of K7 Media’s latest findings, up next.
Last year, entertainment formats and unscripted content reached an all-time high, with more platforms and screens demanding fresh, new content.
In this context, in its new Tracking the Giants report, K7 Media analyzed the main trends among the titles being distributed around the world, and found that the two largest global format distributors, Banijay and Fremantle, both posted year-on-year increases in their volume of new launches, but ultimately it was Banijay who took the crown this year as the No.1 distributor of new format adaptations and ended Fremantle’s three-year reign at the top.
Also posting yearly growth in their number of new launches was All3Media who took third place as the most successful distributor of 2022 and delivered the format of the year with The Traitors, which jumped from just one international adaptation in 2021 to an impressive seven new adaptations in 2022.
According to the report, the big trend of the year has been the rise of reality as a key format genre and newer reality titles like The Bridge and The Traitors climbed up the format charts last year and look set to dominate the TV landscape throughout 2023. Already the destination for many hit reality formats, streamer commissioning continued to grow during 2022 and there was an increased number of unscripted format launches across both local and global platforms. Feel-good formats and Dating & Relationships also continued to remain popular themes with TV audiences in 2022.
With a declining number of format reboots in 2022 and an increase in the number of newly created formats travelling from a more diverse range of territories, we are perhaps starting to see broadcasters take more risks in unscripted commissioning. Despite an uncertain economic outlook, unscripted formats continue to entertain world-weary global TV audiences and this increased global format demand in 2022 coupled with a post-pandemic creative revival certainly point to a more optimistic outlook for the global format business in 2023.
The Format Stars of 2022:
FORMAT OF THE YEAR – The Traitors
The Traitors (All3Media) was the fastest moving format of the year and accelerated rapidly up the top-ranking list from just one new international adaptation in 2021 to seven new adaptations in 2022.
FORMAT HALL OF FAME – The Masked Singer
The Masked Singer (MBC/Fremantle) delivered the largest global format reach of 2022 and has now officially entered into our Top 15 ranking of the 100 most successful global formats ever created – rubbing shoulders with format royalty such as Got Talent (80), The Voice (74) and Dancing With The Stars (67).
RISING FORMAT STARS – Sort Your Life Out & The Bridge
Both of these titles scaled the charts during 2022 to rank in joint third place on the list of top formats for the year. Both Sort Your Life Out (All3Media) and The Bridge (Banijay) were adapted in an additional six new markets during 2022.
FORMATS TO WATCH – The 1% Club & Parental Guidance
Based on recent launches and confirmed sales, The 1% Club (BBC Studios) is set to become one of the fastest moving formats of 2023 with more than seven new adaptations. Parental Guidance (Fremantle) is another growing title to watch for 2023, with the format securing four international commissions already.
SPIN-OFF SUPERSTAR – MasterChef
With seven different spin-off iterations making sales in 2022, MasterChef (Banijay) is one of the most versatile formats ever created and is set to grow further in 2023 with a dessert version planned for Australia.
DISTRIBUTOR OF THE YEAR – Banijay
Ending a three-year reign at the top for Fremantle, 2022 was the year that saw Banijay take the crown as the world’s largest distributor of new launches. Banijay also had largest number of active series in 2022.
HOT GENRE – Reality
2022 marked a very definite shift in the genre of new global format launches and the fastest growing genre last year was Reality which posted an impressive year-on-year increase of +50% in the number of new launches.
TOP THREE FORMAT ORIGINATORS – UK, USA & The Netherlands
Formats created by production companies from the UK, USA and The Netherlands were still responsible for over half of all new launches last year, but this number is declining as we are seeing an ever-widening pool of global creativity across an increasingly diverse range of territories.
TOP THREE FORMAT BUYERS – Germany, Belgium & The Netherlands
Germany held onto the top spot as the No.1 buyer of global formats in 2022 and UK-originated formats accounted for half of these imported titles. We also saw year-on-year growth for format imports into Vietnam, France, Poland and New Zealand.
