Asia's formats business is in flux, as demand picks up for more differentiated productions, attuned towards regional and local tastes.

One immediate opportunity lies in China, where recently imposed restrictions on imported entertainment formats – a push to encourage local companies to come up with more of their own – has already forced buyers and suppliers to rethink the way forward.

From a standing start a few years ago, when successful formats were more likely to be copied than bought, China has become one of the biggest customers in the region, largely thanks to the success of Got Talent and The Voice on popular provincial satellite channels.

Even national broadcaster CCTV, best known for its news, dramas and documentaries, has joined the act, scoring a big hit with its first foreign reality format acquisition Thank God You’re Here, retitled, Thank Heaven, Thank Earth, You’ve Arrived.

CCTV’s relationship with format sellers continues to evolve, observed Yan He, SVP of sales in APAC, Middle East and Africa for European production network Red Arrow, speaking at Formats Asia.

The broadcast giant called in Red Arrow to help out on production for quiz/game show hybrid You Deserve It (localized as I Fight For You on lead channel CCTV-1), after initially buying just the format rights. Since then, Red Arrow has sold a second format to CCTV, cooking show The Taste – only this time, production assistance is part of the deal from the start.

With a budget of RMB5 million/US$820,000 per episode, the production is the biggest of its kind in China.

“All foreign companies know it has become more difficult just to sell formats to the Chinese market, because you can’t make that much money without production services,” He said.

New concepts

Meanwhile, executives at one of China’s biggest format buyers, Zhejiang TV, are wondering about new concepts for the market, such as outdoor reality shows or factual entertainment.

Zhejiang is best known for its production of The Voice of China, the country’s biggest format hit to date.

New formats could help Zhejiang maintain an edge in the battle for ratings while aligning with the latest policy requirements on TV content, but also introduce extra risk.

Studio-based entertainment shows are still popular, but the latest government edicts are nudging broadcasters towards formats without a proven track record in China, where the right localization makes the difference between success and failure.

“The demand for good quality shows is still there, so what are we going to do?” mused Zhejiang TV’s director of formats, Summer Hong.

“Looking at a variety of shows is one thing – we are also looking at co-development and co-production with our international partners. There are more opportunities in co-operation than simple format licensing before.”