UK’s entry into top 10 format-importers list is ‘a scandal,’ claims Steven D Wright
UK unscripted industry veteran Steven D Wright claims that it is “a scandal” that the UK has entered the top 10 format-importing countries for the first time – with a reliance on international unscripted programming “killing the industry.”
As C21 reported in June, data unveiled at the Conecta Fiction & Entertainment conference in Spain laid bare the UK’s recent dependence on IP from beyond its own shores.
Caroline Servy, MD of French research outfit The WIT, presented research which showed that the UK is now in the number eight slot in the list of top format importers for the 2024/25 season, accounting for 3.8% of imported formats worldwide.
The finding signals a significant strategic pivot in one of the world’s most historically prolific format-exporting nations, with potential consequences for the development of new UK formats for export in the future.
Wright has spent three decades working as a TV creative and claims to have generated programming over £55m (US$69m), including masterminding hit international formats such as Ex on the Beach (Whizz Kid Entertainment for MTV UK) and Celebrity Call Centre (Kerfuffle TV for Channel 4).
He claims that the UK’s entry into top 10-format importing countries could have dire consequences for the domestic unscripted ecosystem.
“It’s just a scandal,” the former Channel 4 commissioner told C21. “Not long ago, we were the greatest at exporting our own formats and that lasted for a good 15 years.
“We took over the world and beat countries like the US and Korea. Now we just buy in formats and that shows how conservative and terrified commissioners are to take risks with new ideas.
“The BBC, our own national public broadcaster, is buying in entertainment shows from abroad. It’s killing our industry.”
Servy’s findings about the UK’s format-importing levels comes after UK broadcasters commissioned several format reboots and shows based on imported IP in recent years, such as The Masked Singer (ITV), The Masked Dancer (ITV), Gladiators (BBC), The Traitors (BBC), 99 to Beat (ITV), Survivor (BBC), Genius Game (ITV), Stranded on Honeymoon Island (BBC), Destination X (BBC) and LOL: Last One Laughing UK (Prime Video). ITV has also rebooted US formats Jeopardy!, Wheel of Fortune and Pictionary.
The rise in format imports, particularly in traditionally exporting countries like the UK, reflects a changing economic and creative landscape. While the UK remains the top exporter globally – accounting for 23.8% of all format adaptations in Europe – its newfound status as a top importer suggests that domestic broadcasters are balancing out development slates with tried-and-tested international formats.
However, ex-Kerfuffle TV MD and BBC factual creative director Wright believes that a growing dependence on IP from international territories is choking the UK’s own creative pipeline. It’s becoming increasingly difficult for British unscripted producers to get paper formats greenlit, casting into doubt when the UK will originate another globe-conquering format such as the MasterChef franchise, Gogglebox or Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
“When I was at Channel 4 it was part of the make-up of the channel to take risks, bring in new talent and change ideas,” said Wright, who now works as a TV consultant. “Commissioners would kill their babies by cancelling successful shows to create space for new ideas.
“Pitching new shows to buyers these days is a fool’s errand because nothing is getting through. The commissioning window is being bolted up and boarded over.”
