To succeed in the long term, creators and producers of unscripted formats must think internationally, help clients reduce risk and not be afraid to share IP and revenues.

L to R: Siobhan Crawford, Moe Bennani, Nassima Boudi and Wouter van der Pauw

The Mipcom panel How to Make Magic in Formatland in 2025 was moderated by format veteran and C21 columnist Siobhan Crawford, who asked how much the international market factors in when starting to develop a new format.

“This is crazy market: we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money, we don’t have the money,” said Moe Bennani, CEO of French prodco Dreamspark, to Mipcom delegates. “And if you don’t think international, you won’t have money. You won’t be able to produce. You won’t bet on another source of revenue.”

That, he added, is something the Netherlands understood long ago, starting with visionary producer and Big Brother creator John de Mol – a mindset that has turned the country into a creative and exporting powerhouse.

“The Netherlands, Israel and other small countries were always international by necessity. But now even the big ones, like France and Germany, are having revenue issues, so we all have to think international,” he said, adding that at Dreamspark, “it’s become an obsession.”

That’s why the company has developed and sold paper formats based on “games everyone knows,” such as Sea Battle, co-developed with Satisfaction Group, and That’s My Chair, with Mediawan, both sold this year to French broadcasters TF1 and France Télévisions respectively.

Protecting intellectual property is, for Nassima Boudi, the foundation of any format creation strategy. The international director at Satisfaction Group stressed that retaining IP is essential for building long-term value.

“France is a very generous country for IP owners. Many approach us because they know we do everything we can to retain certain assets, both for them and for us. That makes France truly attractive.

“It’s important to do so, because otherwise you just become a service company, and then how do you build wealth and assets?” she added.

Dreamspark’s Bennani agreed on the importance of holding on to IP to build company value, but added a nuance: the need to stay flexible and open to partnerships.

“You shouldn’t be afraid to share. It’s better to have 50% of something that’s on air than 100% of lots of things sitting in your Dropbox,” Bennani said.

Another key factor in bringing formats to market today is finding partners, be it players with expertise in certain genres, existing broadcaster relationships, digital experience or distribution strength.

Wouter van der Pauw, founder of Dutch company Signal.Stream, summed up that approach as finding people or companies you can learn from.

“Every producer and every channel in the world has their own successes and their own stories. For us, approaching a partner is much more than trying to sell something, it’s an opportunity to learn from what they’re doing,” he said, citing digital-first format Let’s Play Ball, which Signal.Stream co-developed with EndemolShine Nederland and Talpa Studios.

For creative players “who think big but are small,” like Dreamspark, the fastest route, said Bennani, is to take ideas to bigger, more established companies.

“Many production companies have very strong ties with broadcasters. My strategy from the beginning was to hack that system, partner with the big players and make sure I flow through their pipeline so I can get my shows on every channel. And that’s what worked for us,” he said.

The experts agreed that part of their role is helping broadcasters or platforms reduce the risk of investing in new formats, and there are smart ways to do that.

“The questions you always have to ask are: how do I reduce risk for the broadcasters? Do I partner with a talent? With a company specialised in this kind of content? Do I bring in a brand? Do I make it very cheap? Do I make a pilot on YouTube?” Bennani suggested.

That last model is precisely what Signal.Stream applies, using YouTube as a testing ground by launching pilots of new formats on its channel StukTV and seeing how they perform.

“We always have this internal joke: for the amount the UK spends on a development, we make an episode,” said van der Pauw, whose Let’s Play Ball reached 1.2 million views on YouTube before being picked up by Dutch broadcaster SBS6.

When it comes to AI, Bennani warned that the future won’t be about who has the most disruptive ideas.

“We’re not here because we have the best ideas,” he said. “And as we move forward, it’ll become clearer why, because in the future everyone will have great ideas, great technology and great tools with the help of AI.

“But the big difference will be: can you earn the buyer’s trust? AI won’t give you that trust. It won’t teach you how to sell a show, how to plan it or how to think strategically. More than having good ideas, what matters today is having the right partnerships, making the best decisions and closing the strongest deals.”