FRIDAY'S ESPRESSO - 22th December

The most followed newsletter about unscripted in the world - SPECIAL ISSUE FOR THE END OF THE YEAR

In this year’s last issue, some general reflections about the 3 topics of the newsletter: formats, markets & trends. I’d be glad to receive your opinions in the comments.

1. FORMATS

Everyone agrees 2023 has been a hard year for tv entertainment. Jan Salling (FRAPA co-chair and head of BBC Studios Nordics) calls it “uniquely hard”.

However, platforms and screens all over the world need content, now more than ever. And formats have 3 “industrial assets” that make them irreplaceable.

Formats are both efficient and effective: they are relatively low-priced (compared to fiction). Formats are flexible: it is possible to add or remove episodes with relative ease and speed according to how they’re going. Formats are “scaleable”: starting from a concept it’s often possible to produce a big show for prime time for a big national (or international) broadcaster, or cheap (but effective) content for a small AVoD.

To these 3 qualities we should add one more, in order to have the perfect format: originality (a format with a twist, as everyone says). And herein lies the problem: in 2023 there were very few original formats (or, at least, formats which are remarkable in some way). I can only name no more than two, or maybe three.

There are, of course, lots of reboots, spin-offs and so on. But even the “original” formats, to tell the truth, had very little in the way of originality. And, without a real twist, the risk is that formats could be considered only a “commodity”, a kind of “fungible content” useful mainly to fill the schedule at a relatively low price.

And that is a great pity. Because formats can really be an invaluable asset for every broadcaster/platform. They can really make a difference, as the history of television teaches us.

2. MARKETS

NATPE GLOBAL (Miami, 16-18 Jan); CONTENT AMERICAS (Miami, 23-25 Jan ); REALSCREEN SUMMIT (New Orleans, 29 Jan-1 Feb); EUROPEAN FILM MARKET (Berlinale, Berlin, 15-21 Feb); FOMEX (Rihad City, 19-21 Feb); LONDON TV SCREENINGS (London, 26 Feb-1 Mar); IPXCHANGE (Cologne, 26-27 Mar); MIPTV (Cannes, 8-10 Apr); NEM (Dubrovnik, 10-13 Jun); CONECTA FICTION & ENTERTAINMENT (Toledo, 18-21 Jun); NATPE BUDAPEST (Budapest, 25-27 Jun); CONTENT BUDAPEST (Budapest, 27-29 Jun); K-CONTENT EXPO (London, 24-27 Jul); BCWW Broadcast Worldwide (Seul, 16-18 Aug); COPENAGHEN TV FESTIVAL (Copenaghen, 21-22 Aug); THE EDINBURGH TV FESTIVAL (Edinburgh, 22-25 Aug); SCREEN HELSINSKI (31 Aug); UNIFRANCE RENDEZ-VOUZ (Biarritz, 3-7 Sep); MIPAfrica (Cape Town, 4-6 Sep); CONTENT CANADA (Toronto, 11-13 Sep); NIFS TV TORONTO (Toronto, 15-16 Sep); IBC (Amsterdam, 15-18 Sep); IPXCHANGE (Cologne, 18-19 Sep); HEART OF EUROPE (Warsaw, 25-28 Sep); ACE FAIR (Gwangju, 26-29 Sep); NIFSTV LONDON (London, 8-9 Oct); MIA MARKET (Rome , 9-13 Oct); MIPCOM (Cannes, 16-19 Oct); NIFSTV LAGOS (Lagos, 24-26 Oct); TIFFCOM (Tokio, 25-27 Oct); NIFS LOS ANGELES (Los Angeles, 3-4 Nov); DIGITAL TV (London, 7Nov); K-CONTENT EXPO BELGIUM (Brussels, 8-10 Nov); K-EXPO THAILAND (Bangkok, 9-12 Nov); MIPCANCUN (Cancun, 14-17 Nov); DICM (Dubai, 22-23 Nov); CONTENT LONDON (London, 27-30 Nov); CONTENT IP MARKET (Seul, 28 Nov); ATF (Singapore, 6-8 Dec); NEM ZAGREB (Zagreb, 6-8 Dec).

This is the calendar of the events of next year (not all of them have been reconfirmed, to tell the truth). 40 (forty!) television markets/fairs all around the world (if I missed any, please let me know in the comments).

Ok, there are differences - in some cases even quite significant ones - regarding genres, goals and purposes. And in some recently created events, there are interesting elements of innovation also regarding the formula.

But the question is: in this period of economic scarcity, isn’t 40 different markets a bit too many?

3. TRENDS

Here is my personal list of 3 trends of this year to be pointed out.

STRONG & MATURE: “INTO THE WILDERNESS”. Formats where participants are pushed to their limits in extreme locations have been very popular in 2023 (and not only). What sometimes varies a bit is the location itself: classic desert island (Naked & Afraid Castaway, Stranded on Honeymoon Island…), jungle/savannah etc. (Camping the Wilderness), high mountains/frozen land etc. (Tracked, The Snow Patrol…) and so on.

Sometime also the motivation/reason-why varies: tackling youth depression (The Life Trail), checking the relationship (Couples en Survie) and so on. But maybe, after dozens of formats of this trend, something more innovative is needed…

READY TO BLAST: “AI FORMATS”. As everybody knows, AI and related technologies (Augmented Reality in particular) are entering the life of us all. And, of course, AI is entering the formats and tv industry in general at many levels. For the moment, the only unscripted format already on air using AI in a coherent and creative way is the Spanish Falso Amor (see FE 21st Jul). But there is a bunch of new projects with some interesting twists. And this topic is becoming very, very hot….

PROMISING NOVELTIES: “FORMATS FOR A BETTER WORLD”. Formats promoting correct and more sustainable behaviour are a rather limited and fairly recent trend. But titles like The Yurt - Celebrity Green Challenge (See FE 13th Jan), Re-Fashion (see FE 28th Jul) and Restaurant of the Future (about sustainable food) are making the path. Difficult the say if this trend will bloom in the future. But we need formats like this and - above all - we need a better world…

Thank you very much, season’s greetings to everybody and see you in 2024!