FRIDAY'S ESPRESSO - 14th July
The most followed newsletter about international formats
1. APP-DRIVEN PROGRAMS
There is an interesting new group of brand-funded programs: the ones with an App -or another similar technological service- as a sponsor or as a partner. For example, the Indian game show #Bzinga (see Friday’s Espresso 24th March) takes its title and concept from the Indian auction-App; Peackock and Duolingo partnered in a creative cross-promotion (see FE 7th April) and so on.
Recently two new app-driven formats have been announced. The first one is Bangers: Cars of the People (w/t), commissioned by Channel 4, in partnership with eBay. The show is produced by Plum Pictures and Imhotep Productions and is set to launch later this year.
Each week the 2 hosts (rapper Tinie and F1 analyst and stunt driver Naomi Schiff -pic) look at a different type of cars: hatchbacks, sports cars, 4 x 4’s and family cars. Naomi and Tinie go head-to-head in the ‘Battle of the Bangers’ to decide which is the best in class. With the help of car lovers all over the UK, they will delve into the performance, history, culture and iconography of each car – before the final challenge to decide which comes out on top.
The second one is the Indian dating show Swipe Ride, on air from 7th July on Viacom18-owned Indian OTT free streaming JioCinema, produced by Viacom18 Digital Ventures and in partnership with Tinder.
The series celebrates uninhibited, meaningful conversations about what Indian women really want from their dating lives. The host, the popular social media content creator and actor Kusha Kapila, takes the driver’s seat once again to pick up Tinder members to meet their dates. Joining the two ladies for the journey will be a surprise celebrity guest. The trio chat about the nuances of dating, romance, what they want in a relationship, and how meaningful connections can take different forms on Tinder.
We’ll see other App-driven programs in the near future for sure.
2. FRANCE EXPRESS
Monday 9th July in access prime time La Route des Coffres (Coffers’ Road) premiered on French M6, an adventure game show hosted by Stéphane Rotenberg and produced by Studio 89 Production.
This format sees three pairs embark across France’s regions, traveling by motorhome with the aim of winning up to 3,000 euros at each checkpoint (with 100,000 euros on the table in total). “There will be quizzes, skill games, puzzles - almost a board game on wheels”, as the host sums it up.
Treasure hunt meets travel show (with a clever form of domestic tourism on the side).
3. OPTIMISM ABOUT FORMATS
3 facts of the last few days:
1. FRAPA board member Hayley Babcock (pic) held a number of sessions about formats at the recent Content LA and Realscreen West and reported on the FRAPA newsletter. She wrote that Content LA were the first to highlight unscripted programming and formats alongside scripted content, previously its sole priority. On the other hand, Realscreen West, which was traditionally used to focus on factual content, is now increasingly addressing formats during panels and speaker sessions in more robust ways.
2. Banijay, Université Côte d’Azur, the City of Cannes and Cannes Lérins Agglomeration have confirmed the return of their master’s program focused on the creation and development of TV formats. Titled “Mastering the TV Formats of Tomorrow: Creation and Development”, the bilingual course offers academic segments about format creation, production and other important issues under the guidance of Banijay representatives.
3. Channel 4 in the UK is looking for entertainment formats for its youth-skewing digital brand Channel 4.0. Speaking at the Children’s Media Conference (CMC) in Sheffield last week, Channel 4’s digital development executive Hanz MacDonald (pic) said: “We’re looking for entertainment formats which are hilarious, mischievous and often authored by the UK’s biggest creators. Channel 4.0 shows need to speak authentically about culture”.
Connect the dots and you see that, despite of the fact we are at an epochal pivot point, formats are still living and vital. They are changing, of course, as everything in this hectic period, but it’s also incredibly exciting for those who are not afraid of change.
