A TV Program format is a license to produce and to broadcast a national version of a copyrighted foreign TV program and to use its name. Formats are a major part of the international television market. A television program is the content of television broadcasting. ...

Format purchasing is popular with broadcasters, due notably to:

• the large cost savings associated with avoiding the risk of inventing something original;
• the illusion for national audiences of watching a successful local production;
• the potential for the concept behind a certain TV show to be successful if tailored for a particular market.

Definition of Format

"Format is the name of a crossmediale expression where characteristic elements are fixed, so that a distinctive and result-oriented contact with the target group is built. On the basis of which a balanced mix of content, entertainment and interaction can be produced." [by Daphne Dijkerman (http://somethinnew.web-log.nl) and edited by Christy Dena, March 2006]

Common formats

Sitcoms are often sold as formats, enabling broadcasters to adapt them to the perceived tastes of their own audience. An example would be Coupling, the BBC TV series adapted (unsuccessfully) by NBC in 2003. A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... Coupling season one cover Coupling is a sitcom written by Steven Moffat, produced by Hartswood Films for the BBC, that debuted on BBC2 in May 2000, and ended in 2004. ... For other uses, see BBC (disambiguation). ... Flop redirects here. ... NBC, formerly called the National Broadcasting Company, is an American television broadcasting company based in New York Citys Rockefeller Center. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The most common type of format is for game shows, many of which are remade in multiple markets with local contestants. In recent years, key examples would include Survivor, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, Pop Idol and BigBrother that have all proved successful worldwide. A game show is a radio or television program involving members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, playing a game, perhaps involving answering quiz questions, for points or prizes. ... Survivor is a popular reality television program produced in many countries throughout the world. ... Logo from the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers very large cash prizes for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. ... Pop Idol was a British television series shown on ITV1; the show was a talent contest to find the best new young singer or pop idol in the UK. The Idol series has spun off dozens of successes such as American Idol, Canadian Idol, Indian Idol, and Australian Idol. ... Big Brother is a popular reality television format, where, over 15 weeks or so, a number of contestants (typically 12) try to avoid periodic publicly-voted evictions from a communal house and hence win a cash prize. ...

Logos of international formats of the game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?

United Kingdom: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? Logo from the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers very large cash prizes for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. ... This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ... Logo from the UK version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is a television game show which offers very large cash prizes for correctly answering successive multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. ...

France: Qui veut gagner des millions ? Image File history File links 103_qvgd_millions. ...

Germany: Wer wird Millionär? Who wants to be a Millionaire Germany This is a copyrighted and/or trademarked logo. ...

Lithuania: Kas laimės milijoną? Image File history File links Milijonas. ...

Legal issues

Whilst TV formats are a form of intellectual property which are regularly bought and sold by TV producers, distributors and broadcasters, they are very hard to protect in law. As a result, copy-cat formats are sometimes created, which seek to duplicate the success of an original format without paying the rights-holder of the original format. Intellectual property (IP) refers to a legal entitlement which sometimes attaches to the expressed form of an idea, or to some other intangible subject matter. ...

See also

• List of British television series remade for the U.S. market
• List of U.S. television series remade for the British market