Arjan Pomper: “Creating a show is not difficult, but creating a global success always is”

In the beginning of this year, Arjan Pomper was appointed as Managing Director, Global Entertainment at ITV Studios, with the responsibility of overseeing a catalogue of almost 300 unique formats, including some of the largest shows in the world such as “The Voice,” “Love Island,” “I Am A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!,” and “The Chase,” among many others.

An all-time classic, “The Voice” is the most successful format brand in the non-scripted global marketplace, with a combined number of 144 franchises in 72 countries. Apart from this worldwide hit, ITV's catalog combines well-known brands with fresh formats which are enjoying great popularity, with titles such as “Love Island,” present in 22 territories with local adaptations; “The Chase,” which has been acquired in 19 territories so far; “Ready to Mingle,” which soon will expand to even more territories in Europe; and new cooking show “Rat in The Kitchen.”

“Talent, dating, cooking, gaming and reality shows are the categories we are focusing on at this moment. Sometimes the trend shifts a little bit to cooking shows, sometimes to talent shows. The fact is that it is quite difficult to always come up with global successes. Creating a show is not always difficult, but creating a global success always is,”  Arjan Pomper, Managing Director, Global Entertainment at ITV Studios, told Señal News.

Pomper believes that the key for a format to become a global brand is consistency, and it also depends on what the company is willing to give to that show. “We have a very big group of people flying all over the world to assist local production companies in creating the best show they could ever think of. In that way, you are protecting your brand, you are being consistent and you are also adding new twists to the show, bringing always a fresh format,” he explained.

In recent years, the non-scripted content business has been changing, and the pandemic had a lot to do with it. Many broadcasters and streamers are looking for existing formats, because they know what they are acquiring and they are sure that they are buying a proven success. Therefore, the segment begins to lack fresh ideas. “Today a lot of buyers are being a little bit conservative in their choices. We are always trying to recognize new formats or new spin-offs for existing formats, and we have 60 different creative labels, so there is always something new coming up,” the executive assured. 

A new player in the non-scripted arena are streaming platforms, which a couple of years ago began betting also on formats. “Linear and non-linear clients’ demands are changing, but also coming very close together. I think this interest from streamers on formats has two reasons. One maybe because creating scripted is much more expensive than creating non-scripted. Secondly, to reduce churn they need to renew their catalogue as quickly as possible, and creating non-scripted is easier and quicker,”  Pomper concluded.

By Federico Marzullo