The International Format Awards 2016

ENTER NOW! The International Format Awards have opened for entry for any format from across the international market that first went on air in 2015.

Pictured at last year’s event are C21’s David Jenkinson, Nordic World’s Jan Salling, gold award winner Annie Wegelius, Reed Midem’s Laurine Garaude, EMC’s Christopher Fey and host Tiff Stevenson

Coproduced by C21, FRAPA and EMC, these are the leading awards for the global content business, recognising creativity and excellence across a range of categories.

The entry period is January 18 to February 19.
The judging period is February 24 to March 23.
The finalists will be announced on March 24.
The awards will be presented at a gala dinner during MipFormats.

To enter, please click here. 

The awards are judged by 50 of the world’s leading format buyers and commissioners, so entering gets your formats in front of the people that matter.

Categories
Best Studio-based Gameshow Format
Studio-based gameshows can cover everything from serious quizzes and physical studio games to cooking and dating games. At the core, they must take place in a closed studio environment and some game must be played, almost always with a competition and winners.

Best Scripted Format
These are scripted shows (either comedy or drama) that have been formatted for territories outside their country of origin.

Best Multi-platform Format
Formats that, at their core, have some platform aside from television integral to the show’s narrative. A website, social network page or telephony 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.

Best Comedy Format
This category is for unscripted comedies, not sitcoms. These are comedy formats in a studio or in the field that might involve comedy sketches, improv, hidden cameras or panels. They won’t be confused with sitcoms, but might be confused with quizshows. However, for comedies, the answers don’t matter – the laughs are what counts.

Best Competition Reality Format
Competition reality takes in everything from Survivor to So You Think You Can Dance. At the core, there is a winner. Participants (celebrities or members of the public) are playing to win. All modern talent shows are competition reality. Even though a lot of the competition takes place in a studio, nearly all of these shows have out-of-studio elements – not least of which is public voting.

Best Factual Entertainment Format
In our awards, ‘factual entertainment’ has a broader definition than used in the UK, where ‘factual’ and ‘factual entertainment’ mean different things. In this case, factual entertainment formats are those shot in the field or in studios where there is not competition but rather the exploration of a slice of life, either for elucidation or for entertainment. The topics could be life or death (Deadliest Catch) or lifestyle (cooking).

Best Host of a Television Format
This award is designed to recognise talent in front of the camera and will be given to the person the judges feel has played a key role in enhancing a format by their sheer strength of personality, flair and unique approach to fronting it.

Best Brand-driven Format
More than just a bit of product placement or brand integration, this category is about formats that owe their existence to a brand or advertiser that has played a crucial part in its creation. The format could be a studio-based gameshow or factual entertainment chatshow, but it must have been brought to television with the key input of a brand.

The International Formats Business Gold Award 2016
This award will be chosen by the C21, EMC and FRAPA boards for outstanding contribution to the formats business.

Call C21 on +44 (0)20 7729 7460 to speak to someone about the Format Awards.