Virginia Mouseler (left) interviewed at Rio2C
YouTube influencers becoming TV ‘superhosts,’ scripted content based on real events and ideas from peripheral cultures are some of the international formats market trends identified by consultancy The Wit.
The international consulting firm presented its latest trends to delegates at the Rio2C event in Rio De Janeiro last week.
“Digital content creators are becoming IPs. But more than that, they’re becoming VIPs for the television world, which is now viewing them as superhosts. Digital influencers are influencing television content,” according to Virginia Mouseler, co-founder of consultancy The Wit.
As an example of the first trend, the firm highlighted Let’s Play Ball, a format that emerged on a Dutch YouTube channel and which, in collaboration with Banijay Rights, will have it’s linear TV debut on SBS6, coproduced by EndemolShine Nederland and Signal.Stream.
“It’s a very simple concept: pushing a giant ball through the streets of the Netherlands. But its simplicity has led to Banijay Entertainment now distributing it internationally for TV,” says Mouseler.
During the first day of the event in Rio, Mouseler highlighted the potential of ideas from non-Western territories, such as Ants (Fremantle UK and Nippon TV), a Japanese format where a group of participants dressed as ants must complete collective challenges typical of the insects.
“Our mission is to identify the best format ideas wherever they come from. According to data from The Wit, currently 53% of all unscripted format adaptations come from European IPs, with the UK accounting for 20.9%, the Netherlands accounting for 19.8%, and the US 17.6%,” he explained.
EndemolShine Nederland and Signal.Stream’s Let’s Play Ball
Another trend is the focus on authenticity in digital content. A good example is influencer hubs.life, present on Instagram (1.5 million followers as of June 2023) and TikTok (900,000 followers in January 2023). He describes himself as “a normal guy doing normal things.” His goal is to showcase his 9-5 work routine.
“The problem is that we discovered he quit his job to create content full-time and now has a Mac. We’ll see how he fares from now on in terms of authenticity,” the consulting firm noted.
Mouseler also cited 21-year-old French YouTuber Inoxtag, who set out to become the first influencer to climb Mount Everest. The result is the documentary Kaizen, which has just had a multi-platform release, including in theatres, YouTube, Disney+ and even on linear TV, having been acquired by several broadcasters.
From the future to the present, Mouseler also pointed to the four formats that are among the most successful when adapted globally, according to The Wit.
First up is the Dutch quizshow The Floor (Talpa Studios), noted for its visual effects, which currently has 20 adaptations airing worldwide. Of the other three, two were adapted by Globo in Brazil: French show The A Talks (Can’t Stop Media), hosted by neurodivergent individuals, which has already had 15 international adaptations and whose Brazilian version was developed as a segment within the Sunday programme Fantástico; and the UK reality show My Mum, Your Dad (ITV Studios), adapted in Brazil by Globoplay.
Finally, Mouseler also highlighted the Belgian-originated adventure gameshow Destination X (Be Entertainment), which has already been adapted in about 10 markets, including the US by NBC/Peacock.
