Studio-based formats, also known as ‘shiny-floor shows’ in some parts of the world, are central to the international formats business – and the TV business in general.
Such a broad category like this encompasses everything from high-profile, star-studded Saturday night events to high-volume stripped daytime shows that are perhaps less glamorous but nevertheless key to the livelihoods of many prodcos and the ratings of many broadcasters.
In terms of entry criteria, studio-based formats can cover everything from serious quizzes to physical studio games, from cooking to dating games. At their core, they must take place in a closed studio environment and some games must be played, almost always with competitions and winners.
Talking of competitions and winners, the International Format Awards are being presented online this year, via C21Media.net. They will be surrounded by a series of digital initiatives that celebrate the best in creativity from all around the world, held in association with FRAPA, EMC and MipFormats on June 25, with finalists in each category being announced daily.
Finalists in the Best Studio-Based Format category this year include six formats from five countries: Germany, Sweden, Belgium, the US and UK.
From Germany comes Beat the Channel, a show created and produced by Florida Entertainment for Germany’s ProSieben. The “riotous new entertainment gameshow” gives two TV presenters the chance to win a 15-minute live broadcast slot. It has already been commissioned for a third season by the broadcaster and is being distributed by Red Arrow Studios International.
Swedish show Head to Head (aka Alla mot Alla), in which celebrity couples face off in quiz battles, is also in the running for this prize. Kanal 5’s award-winning quizshow is produced by Nexiko, which the show’s hosts, Filip Hammar and Fredrik Wikingsson, set up with former Kanal 5 exec Lars Beckung, and is distributed by All3Media International.
From Belgium comes The Way Out (aka De Code van Coppens), a comedy gameshow in which two celebrity duos are sent into two identical rooms full of mysteries to be solved, with plenty of laughs along the way as they are led, and often misled, towards the way out of the room by the presenters. The family entertainment show debuted on Belgian network VTM last October, produced by Roses Are Blue, and the format is distributed internationally by Be-Entertainment.
The US finalist in this category is Mental Samurai, “an innovative and entertaining new challenge show” produced by Warner Horizon Television for the Fox network. Debuting in March 2019, the show is hosted and produced by Rob Lowe (The West Wing), and distributed by Warner Bros International Television Production.
The two remaining finalists for Best Studio-Based Format are from the UK: Catchpoint on BBC1 and Small Fortune on ITV. Produced by ITV Studios-owned prodcos Possessed and 12 Yard, physical gameshow Catchpoint requires contestants to answer various questions as well as challenging them to catch balls of various sizes that are dropped from the studio ceiling. ITV Studios is distributing the format internationally.
Small Fortune, meanwhile, airs in primetime on ITV in the UK and the format has been licensed to NBC in the US, according to the producers. Claiming to be the world’s smallest gameshow, Small Fortune sees teams of friends and family members compete in tiny games to win big money. The format was created by Youngest Media and the company 
distributes it in Germany, France, Australia and US, while NENT Studios UK handles sales in the rest of the world.
Watch out for our interview with Wayne Garvie, president of international production at Sony Pictures Television and the recipient of the prestigious Gold Award at this year’s International Format Awards, tomorrow on C21Media.net.
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