Manchester and Amsterdam-based global media intelligence consultancy, K7 Media, has released its annual ‘Tracking the Giants: The Top 100 Travelling Formats’ report.
The report identifies the most successful unscripted TV formats from the last 12 months and offers comprehensive insights into the latest trends in unscripted format sales globally, featuring data submitted by distributors from around the world.
The two largest global format distributors, Banijay and Fremantle, both posted year-on-year increases in their volume of new launches, but ultimately it was Banijay who took the crown this year as the No.1 distributor of new format adaptations and ended Fremantle’s three-year reign at the top.
Also posting yearly growth in their number of new launches was All3Media who took third place as the most successful distributor of 2022 and delivered the format of the year with The Traitors, which jumped from just one international adaptation in 2021 to an impressive seven new adaptations in 2022.
According to the report, the big trend of the year has been the rise of reality as a key format genre and newer reality titles like The Bridge and The Traitors climbed up the format charts last year and look set to dominate the TV landscape throughout 2023.
The unscripted market in 2022 witnessed an increase in both the number of new adaptations and new IP travelling, and there was an increased number of unscripted format launches across both local and global platforms.
Feel-good formats and Dating & Relationships also remained popular themes with TV audiences in 2022.
K7 Media’s CEO & founder, Keri Lewis Brown, said: “As we see a decline in the number of format reboots and an increase in newly created formats from a more diverse range of territories traveling globally, it seems that broadcasters are willing to take more risks in their unscripted commissioning.
“Despite the uncertain economic outlook, unscripted formats remain popular with global TV audiences who are seeking entertainment. The increased demand for global formats in 2022, coupled with the post-pandemic creative revival, suggest a more optimistic outlook for the global format business in 2023.”
