Finalists for best multi-platform format revealed

C21 has announced the six finalists in the Best Multi-Platform Format category in the International Format Awards 2020, which is organised in association with FRAPA, EMC and MipFormats.

This award celebrates formats that, at their core, have some platform aside from television integral to the show’s narrative. A website or social network page that is merely a promotional vehicle for the show would not qualify. The other non-TV platforms have to interact with the casting, narrative or outcome of the show to make it a significant multi-platform format.

The International Format Awards will be presented online this year with a digital event initiative that runs between June 10 and 25, sponsored by All3Media International and ITV Studios. The finalists in each category of the awards will be revealed daily until June 23, with the event taking place ‘as live’ online on June 25 at 7am PST/10am EST/3pm BST/4pm CET.

Finalists in the category this year include six formats from four countries – Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and the US – with shows centring on mobile, social media, crowdsourcing and online interactivity.

From Finland comes NOFILTER: The Hummus, a show that explores the difference between influencers’ real lives and social media lives. The format unites public broadcaster YLE’s TV platforms, streaming service Areena and Instagram page, and is produced and distributed by YLE.Pulling With My Parents

Irish format Pulling With My Parents, from Alley Cats TV for pubcaster RTÉ2, is also a finalist in this category. The 60-minute reality dating format sees family members take control of their children’s dating apps, on the basis that no one knows them better than mum and dad. The Story Lab is rolling out the format globally.

The Netherlands – one of the world’s biggest format exporters – is also represented in this category, thanks to scripted format SWIPE. The seven-part drama is about the unforeseen impact of smartphones on the lives of several 20-somethings, told from the perspective of their phones.

Each episode of Swipe was released on both YouTube and the online channel of Dutch broadcaster NPO3. The show was produced by digital prodco Vertov and is distributed globally via Vertov and Dutch public broadcasting company KRO-NCRV.

Three formats from the US round out the finalists in the Multi-Platform Format category: Chasing The Cure, Songland and You vs Wild.

Turner Broadcasting, Lionsgate Television, B-17 Entertainment and Motiv8 Media are behind Chasing The Cure, a factual format in which cures to medical mysteries are crowdsourced live. The show aired on Turner cable channels TBS and TBT, and the format is being shopped globally by Lionsgate.

Songland, meanwhile, is a songwriting talent show from NBC Universal Television Alternative Studio, 222 Productions, Live Animals Productions and Dave Stewart Entertainment. The 11-part series is for NBC, where it debuted in May 2019, and the format is distributed by NBCUniversal Formats Distribution.

Last but by no means least comes You vs. Wild, an interactive series in which audiences make key decisions to help survivalist Bear Grylls complete missions in the harshest environments on Earth. The show unites producers Propagate Content, Electus and Bear Grylls Ventures and debuted on Netflix in April 2019.