In times when chaos is common currency throughout the world, entertainment shows are becoming great allies to distract and bring people together. In an exclusive interview with Señal News, Andre Renaud, Senior Vice President of Global Format Sales at BBC Studios, described current format trends and emphasized in the importance of launching a show at the right time.
- Which current trends about formats do you identify?
“I’ve been in the company for three years. My responsibilities now are overseeing global format sales outside of our owned productions and invest on productions companies. One of my duties is looking at trends and bringing those stories back inside. Actually, the hardest thing is that there are so many trends that you never really know where to look. We do see a trend for heritage shows coming back. For example, in the last year we had five new commissions for ‘The Weakest Link,’ which was huge in the early 2000, but has gone kind of quietly”.
- Why do you think there is this feeling of nostalgia about formats?
“Life is generally cyclical. When things feel chaotic, we want to go for comfort. I feel that is going on at the moment. There is a feeling of chaos in the world. Sometimes we like things like that, but sometimes there is also about being close to family. Big entertainment shows feel like something you can watch all together, almost the antithesis of what is outside your door”.
- Why it seems that the industry changes, but formats don't?
“Strong family shows have become really important for people. ‘Dancing with the stars’ is a good example, because it’s been on for so many seasons. With that show we have an audience who have grown up with us, and the format continues to think about ways to make sure it can still be relevant for younger people. It finds that appeal that makes someone fall in love with the show and bring other people in”.
- How is the process to make an idea travel to many markets?
“A good idea just travels. Maybe a simple idea is a thing that can be adapted locally. I would have never assumed that a show like ‘Doctor Foster’ could be remade in Russia, India or France, for example. Those are three countries that you would not connect together, but there is a story at the heart of it about a woman who is living a fake life and wants to seek revenge. That is a common idea that you can sell anywhere. What is important for localization is how you do it, how do you adapt it, what are the characters, or how they look like”.
- How difficult is to keep innovating?
“I really think is about how you capture moments. A good idea is only good for the moment that it works in. We are really lucky. We have over a hundred shows on our formats library. Sometimes we just wait for the right moment. There are tons of great ideas that probably won’t make it through it. It is how you localize and adapt them”.
By Federico Marzullo