Best TV Formats of 2014

Justin Baldoni and Gina Rodriguez in The CW show Jane the Virgin

Formats and countries dominating TV market in 2014. Smartshow.tv picks format winners of the year.

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

What TV formats dominated the market in 2014? This is our selection of the best formats, country with the largest impact, and most influential news story.

Best format of the year: 'The Voice'

A strong format but declining in some countries for example the U.S. and Germany; with ratings still topping the channels' average. 'The Voice' remains the most watched format in the U.S. within the 18-49 target group. Not forgetting the creative aspect; the last season of 'The Voice' was superb and creative. As far as formats go, both 'The Voice' and 'The Voice Kids' are strong sellers for Talpa.

Best newcomer of the year: 'Jane the Virgin'

New U.S. telenovela adaptation with an averages rating of 0.6 (18-49, most current including time-shift) on The CW. Airing at a highly competitive Monday prime time slot. Not necessarily a chart topper but there's more substance behind 'Jane the Virgin' than just ratings. Being a great example of a U.S. adaptation of Venezuelan telenovela, creating a combination of comedy, romance, and light drama. Following in the steps of 'Ugly Betty' that used to air on ABC a couple of years ago. 'Jane the Virgin' scored the first ever Golden Globe nomination in the history of The CW for Best TV Series, Musical or Comedy and Best Actress in a TV Series, Comedy or Musical (Gina Rodriguez). Ben Silverman's Electus International handles worldwide format sales of 'Jane the Virgin'.

Our other recommendations of new formats:

From MIPCOM 2014:

'The Big Picture' by Talpa
'Help! I Can't Cook' by Keshet International
'Stars at Your Service' by Endemol

From MIPTV 2014:

'Host in the Box' by Endemol
'Adam Looking For Eve' by Warner Bros. International Television Production
'Sing My Song' by ITV Studios

Country of the year: The Netherlands

The Netherlands proved its relevance in format business this year by bringing new formats like 'Utopia' and 'Adam Looking for Eve'. This combined with continuous relevance of Talpa's 'The Voice' makes Netherlands the most important format country of 2014.

Story of the year: 'Rising Star' ups and downs

Last year's best new format 'Rising Star' had its ups and downs during its run. It didn't work for ABC as a summer show achieving mediocre ratings in the 18-49 demo. German market leader RTL cut the airing of episodes and finished the show two weeks ahead of the plan. While British ITV cancelled the show pre-transmission never airing an episode, leaving £1m loss according to The Guardian. But on the other hand 'Rising Star' generated good numbers in countries like Israel, Portugal, and Brazil with the format being sold to China.

Formats awarded in 2014:

'The Amazing Race' (Disney Media Distribution) - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality Competition
'The Amazing Race' (Disney Media Distribution) - Realscreen Award for Best Game
'Connected' (Armoza Formats) - Realscreen Award for Best Docusoap
'Gogglebox' (All3media International) - Rose d’Or Award for Best Reality and Factual Entertainment
'Million Second Quiz' (All3media International) - Realscreen Award for Best Shiny floor game show
'The Millionaire Matchmaker' (N/A) - Realscreen Award for Best Docuformat
'Little Mom' (Dori Media) - Rose d’Or Award for Best Comedy
'Pointless' (Endemol) - Rose d’Or Award for Best Game Show
'Shark Tank' (Sony Pictures Television) - Critics' Choice Award for Best Reality Series - Competition
'Undercover Boss' (All3media International) - Realscreen Hall Of Fame trophy awarded to 'Undercover Boss' creator Stephen Lambert
'The Voice' (Talpa) - People's Choice Award for Favorite Competition TV Show