Trayanova founded Art Winner in 2002, leaving behind a well-established career as a film, TV and stage actress to produce documentaries with a social message. The fledgling company’s first production opened a window on the brutal world of drug addiction — “and it instantly gained hot-topic status”, Trayanova says. Surfing this wave of controversy, Art Winner went on to produce several more hard-hitting documentaries on subjects including alcohol addiction, mental illness and adoption procedures.
The move into formats came in 2006, when Art Winner devised a little travel/reality/game show hybrid called No Luggage. It was another instant hit, punching far above its weight in terms of ratings and recognition. Trayanova says: “For the past three years, No Luggage has been the only show about travel on Bulgarian TV and it’s become one of the most popular programmes on national television.”
Last year saw the launch of a second ratings-beating format — Star Machine — which set out to create Bulgaria’s next national celebrity. Around 1,500 people auditioned for the talent-search show, which debuted on TV7 in November and ended in an Oscar-style red-carpet ceremony in February.
Next up is the reality format Travel’zon, for which Trayanova is currently negotiating with “a major broadcaster”. She adds: “Moving forward, our ambition is to create more original TV formats that not only entertain the public, but also feature a strong educational element and promote a positive, feel-good approach to life.”

First, however, there is the small matter of the plagiarism case be resolved. Trayanova observes that the outcome is significant for the future not only of Art Winner, but for the entire Bulgarian formats industry, which is struggling to take root in an environment where IP theft is, in essence, the default mode. FRAPA, she believes, will be crucial in turning the tide. “When I discovered FRAPA, I saw a helping hand for all TV format creators,” she says. “I’m truly impressed by the way this band of outstanding professionals have grasped the idea of defending intellectual property.”

Joanna Stephens

The Gold Medal presentation took the form of a This Is Your Life-style ambush by your FRAPA colleagues. You were presenting a MIPTV keynote at the time. Did you really have no idea what was in store?
I was totally surprised. The FRAPA board had had a few discussions about potential Gold Medal recipients, but then it all went quiet and I was so deeply burrowed into Nat Geo at the time that I wasn’t paying attention. So I’m up on stage at MIPTV, banging on about making documentaries, when Michel Rodrigue [fellow FRAPA board member] started asking me a convoluted question from the floor. While I was looking at him trying to figure out what he was rambling on about — he seemed to be asking me about my wages — the FRAPA board shuffled on stage from the other direction. I was truly shocked. And, oddly enough for an old cynic, very touched.

Looking back, what would you say FRAPA’s role has been in shaping the formats industry as we know it today?
FRAPA was formed at the dawn of the format boom. I maintain — and it’s probably an idiosyncratic view — that Millionaire was the first real global primetime reality hit. It may technically have been a quiz, but you got to know the contestants as people, and there was an immediacy and interactivity about the way they got on the show that made for a much more personal connection.
So for me, it was Millionaire that started the whole reality explosion in the late Nineties. The success of those early reality hits — Survivor, Big Brother, Popstars — was astonishing. Unlike dramas, where perhaps one in 12 get to air and work, in the early days of the reality boom, maybe two out of every three formats that made it to air were working. So naturally, people were scrambling to get into the reality game.
At that point, it became clear that we needed some sort of framework for the formats business. We were also aware that people were ripping off formats left and right, so protection was becoming an imperative. The Hughie Green Clap-O-Meter case had given protecting IP under copyright law a pretty negative image, so a key part of FRAPA’s early mission was to lobby for recognition under law. In the early days, the ‘recognition’ part of FRAPA’s name was really vital. We realised that was the first step to proper legal protection.
In the second part of what I call ‘The Reality Decade’ — starting around 2006 — there was a period of massive consolidation. Companies started to be bought and sold for serious amounts of money because of their format expertise, which gave a real financial impetus to adequate format protection. People began to realise that this wasn’t about lonely artists in attics trying to protect their drawings from being photocopied, but a real business making real money from extremely valuable IP. That was a turning point.
I won’t say there’s not piracy around today, but it’s not rampant. However, there was a tipping point back in 2001-2002 when it could have gone badly wrong and degenerated into everybody stealing everybody’s formats all the time. That’s what FRAPA, by helping people to understand the mechanics of IP in formats, has helped to prevent.

What was your first brush with formats?
Like everybody else, I watched shows like What’s My Line and Wheel of Fortune without realising they were formats. I suppose my first real contact was in my latter days at Channel Nine Australia in the early Nineties. I remember being part of a heated discussion as to whether we should pay a format fee to Jimmy’s hospital in Leeds for a UK docu-soap that we wanted to replicate in a hospital in Sydney. I was just an observer at that point, but it got me thinking.
Shortly after, we did Peter Bazalgette’s Trading Spaces and I started to see that these shows — or formats — could really rate. Then, when we did Millionaire, there was a similar quiz format doing the rounds from Action Time called something like Million Dollar Chance of a Lifetime. That was the first time I started wondering how close is too close in terms of IP.
Actually, the first mediation I ever did was between Jimmy Mulville from Hat Trick and an Australian producer, who had launched a programme called Good News Week. Jimmy was huffing and puffing because it was an almost identical comedy panel format to Have I Got News For You? I knew both parties, so I brought everybody together and managed to calm things down.

Looking forward, where next for formats?
Let’s get over the notion that formats are a passing trend. They’ve become an integral part of the structure of the television industry. Dramas can still be tremendously successful but they’re expensive and, in today’s fragmented media market, they have to be surrounded by lower cost models.
So for every Downton Abbey, you need unscripted entertainment to balance the books. Some of those formats will be fiercely local, as happens a lot in the US. Others will be absolute formats that can be replicated successfully hither and yon. And still others will be hybrids like Jersey Shore, which has now been sold worldwide as a franchise. I believe we’re about to see a growth in such franchises, if only because of the advertising potential. One of the most delightful parts of signing on to a franchise is that you can go to your advertisers — who are mostly very naïve about unscripted entertainment — show them the ratings from Jersey Shore US and say: “We’re making that in Italy.” And the advertisers instantly get it.
Another growth area will be in the digital space — second screen, social television and apps based on shows. I think these technologies will cause the format industry to growth almost horizontally across the different platforms.
But if I’ve learned one lesson, it’s that there are no rules. For example, just when you think we can’t possibly have another singing show, along comes The Voice and proves everybody wrong.

Lastly, what advice would you give to the next generation of format creatives?
Write it down. Start with something you know and then ask yourself how it could be done differently. If you sit there with a blank piece of paper and try to dream up something that’s never been seen before and is totally revolutionary, you’ll be sitting there looking at that paper for a long time. Instead, think how you could make a dating or talent show and make it different.
Next, don’t edit yourself straight away. Come up with lots of different variations, however unlikely. The difference between a sparky idea and a format is develop, develop, develop.
The next step is to put in structure, which not only helps the show but also helps prove ownership. The Voice, for example, is much more than a singing competition with chairs that swing round. That’s a nice motif but there’s a lot of other stuff in there — so get as much detail down as possible.
And lastly, if you can write it on a beer coaster, it’s probably a concept, not a format.

Bibles — a cross between a DIY production manual and a style guide — are increasingly seen as a central plank in the legal protection of franchises and formats. Strong bibles not only facilitate the transfer of expertise from original producer to adapting producer, so safeguarding the legacy and branding of a format, but they also help to secure a continuous revenue stream for the creatives behind the original concept. Seen in this light, they are powerful protectors of intellectual property.
For this reason alone, Scroggie observes, FRAPA was the obvious home for a Bible Generator tool. “We were initially developing the concept for our own use,” he explains. “But it quickly became clear that it would be better for the entire formats community if FRAPA were to create and endorse an industry standard in this area. And there really needs to be one. It’s scandalous that we, as an industry, are allowing people to sell formatted shows with either no bible attached, or with bibles that are so inadequate as to be useless. There needs to be some sort of security for the people who are buying these products sight unseen.”

Rodrigue adds: “The transfer of expertise is one the most important aspects of the format business. This new tool will allow format producers to create bibles that can help shows travel further, faster and more efficiently — which has to be of value to our entire industry.”
The Bible Generator’s journey from light-bulb moment to workable tool has taken Rodrigue, Scroggie and Starin the best part of a year. “The first challenge was working out from the various bibles we’d all seen what the ideal standard content would be,” Rodrigue says. “The second was working out the simplest form in which to present that content. This tool needs to work for producers from Ecuador to Germany, so we had to keep the technology accessible to all. In the end, we opted for simplicity — a fairly basic word document they can be personalised with the minimum of fuss.”
Then there was the fact that production bibles are, by their nature, secretive documents. “Persuading producers to let us include their closely-guarded bibles in the template was another interesting challenge,” Scroggie notes.

Looking forward, Rodrigue says the Bible Generator is, and will remain, a work in progress. “We’re asking FRAPA members for feedback,” he says. “If it’s to remain relevant, the Bible Generator has to adapt and evolve, reflecting changes in technology, business practice and legislation. But we believe we have succeeded in providing producers with a trigger that will make bible-writing easier and, importantly, significantly cheaper. The Format Generator won’t write your bible for you, but it’ll give you all the help you need to write a great bible yourself.”

Joanna Stephens

The case centres on allegations new ABC series Glass House is “strikingly” similar to Endemol-produced reality format Big Brother, which is heading into its 14th season on CBS. In both shows contestants live together under constant camera coverage and vote each other off to win cash prizes. Read more here.

This year’s MIPFormats programme is the most ambitious yet, with more screenings, market analysis, networking opportunities, conference sessions, workshops and master classes than ever before. There will be knowledge and insight aplenty, from a keenly anticipated keynote from Roy Ackerman, managing director of Jamie Oliver’s Fresh One Production, to FRAPA’s inaugural Format Boot Camp, a series of four live-learning sessions focussing on the practical skills needed to protect, produce, promote and trade formats in today’s complex marketplace. Other centrepiece seminars include Creativity & The Art Of Formats, featuring heavyweights from FremantleMedia, Endemol and Shine; and an analysis of the French market, presented by C21’s David Jenkinson and featuring senior execs from TF1, France Televisions and M6.

But it’s not all chat — there’s also cash at stake at the MIPFormats Pitch, which is sponsored for the first time this year by Warner Bros International Television Production (WBITP). Designed to identify the successful formats of tomorrow, the pitching event features six fresh-from-the-wrapper concepts, selected for their creativity, originality, innovation and ability to return for multiple series. In addition to the warm glow of peer approval, this year’s winner will also receive €25,000 in development funding from WBITP.
“At the buyers’ request, we have also increased the number of screenings,” Garaude adds. These include The WIT-curated Fresh Format Screenings for entertainment and game shows; Nordic World’s showcase of the best content from the Nordic region’s innovative community of indie producers; and a KOCCA-sponsored session on Korea’s latest crop of formats. Another new feature this year is the MIPFormats Digital Screenings Library, designed to offer increased visibility for a range of game-show, reality and factual entertainment formats.
Being at the helm of MIPFormats has given Garaude a rare view of the formats industry as it hurtles into its second decade at the forefront of global entertainment. But while there have been many changes in recent years — consolidation, the rise and rise of the super-indies, the challenge of carving up digital rights, the explosion of social media and two-screen TV, the dawn of constructed reality, the upsurge of creativity from the non-core format territories, the emergence of Asia and Latin American as format power players — some things remain constant.
“The quest for the Next Big Thing in talent and game shows continues,” Garaude says. “People still want what they have always wanted: great entertainment that works well internationally. In the end, that’s what MIPFormats is all about.”

FRAPA is a partner in MIPFormats.

Joanna Stephens

FRAPA brings together format creators from around the world to protect their intellectual property rights.  In 2000, Lyle helped found the organization and served as chairman until 2006.  Often called upon as an expert to lecture internationally on the topic, he was granted the Gold Award for his for his “services to the global format.”  Previous recipients include Reg Grundy, Peter Bazalgette, Merv Griffin and 2011’s recipient, Deal or No Deal creator Dick de Rijk.

FRAPA board member Michel Rodrigue said, “Lyle has made a major contribution to what is now a US$5 billion industry.  We are grateful for his integral role in founding FRAPA and his ongoing role in helping the wider entertainment business understand the concept of intellectual property.”

Added FRAPA chair Ute Biernat, “What David has done for FRAPA and the format industry is outstanding.  He absolutely deserves the award.  I’ve never seen him as surprised as when we ambushed his presentation at MIP to present the award; it was a pleasure.”

Lyle, a veteran television executive whose career spans 25 years across more than 20 countries, has a proven track record developing factual and unscripted multiplatform/multiwindow content, both domestically and globally.  He oversees the U.S. channels National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo WILD and Nat Geo Mundo.  Former positions include heading Fox LOOK, Fox Reality Channel and FremantleMedia North America.

“When we set up FRAPA in April 2000,” said Lyle, “the aim was to have TV formats recognized and protected as intellectual property.  Getting them recognized, we’ve done; getting them protected, we still have a way to go.  FRAPA works to protect the producers, creators and distributors all over the world who are scribbling down ideas.  Formats, whether they’re for TV or digital, deserve to be protected … and rewarded.”

National Geographic Channel

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channels US are a joint venture between National Geographic and Fox Cable Networks.  The Channels contribute to the National Geographic Society’s commitment to exploration, conservation and education with smart, innovative programming and profits that directly support its mission.  Launched in January 2001, National Geographic Channel (NGC) celebrated its fifth anniversary with the debut of NGC HD.  In 2010, the wildlife and natural history cable channel Nat Geo WILD was launched, and in 2011, the Spanish-language network Nat Geo Mundo was unveiled.  The Channels have carriage with all of the nation’s major cable, telco and satellite television providers, with NGC currently available in 83 million U.S. homes.  Globally, National Geographic Channel is available in 435 million homes in 173 countries and 37 languages.  For more information, visit www.natgeotv.com.