Top line findings from the FRAPA report 2009 show that international production volume generated by traded TV formats has grown to € 9.3 billion for theperiod 2006-2008, this is 45 percent up on the € 6.4 billion total first report made on FRAPA's behalf, compiled for 2002 to 2004.

445 original formats found their way to foreign countries from

2006 to 2008. The number nearly doubled from the previous report, which analysed the formats traded from 2002 to 2004. Formats like Deal or No Deal, Hole in the Wall and Lalola are travelling the globe – inspiring millions of people, and stimulating the rise of the format business worldwide.

The UK still leads in the number of exported formats, followed by the USA, The Netherlands and Argentina. Countries such as Germany, Spain and Italy started to improve their format business with promising results already in evidence. Even Japan, a self-sufficient giant, is showing a growing interest in the format trade.

Report says that format global heavyweights such as Endemol and Fremantle face growing competition from many new players; most recently several US studios invested heavily in local production abroad as well as in their format distribution business.

Talent shows, studio game and quiz shows are the top earning genres, along with makeover/coaching shows. Sales in scripted formats such as dramas and telenovelas are growing.

14 countries, namely Argentina, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, The Netherlands, Spain, UK, USA and three Nordic countries, Denmark, Norway and Sweden, comprise the focus of the report.

Ute Biernat, chairman of FRAPA and CEO of Grundy Light Entertainment says, "We very proudly present the impressive results of the new FRAPA Report. Once more it shows the impact of the format business on the media industry and the relevance of the protection of format rights, which becomes more and more obvious."

David Lyle, FRAPA board member and president Fox Reality Channel describes the guide as a world almanac of the format business. "It has both a global overview of the size and scope of the business in terms of which sorts of formats are earning the big bucks and a detailed local view of the evolving opportunities in each of the major territories."

Japan

Formats exported from Japan have risen steadily, doubling over the period to a total of 29 in three years. As of 2008, only one format had been imported by that market, but interest is growing. Hole in the Wall (Nokabe) is seen as a ground-breaking format out of Japan in terms of its success worldwide. Launched as a component of a game show on Fuji TV in July 2006, it gained popularity on You Tube. FremantleMedia distributed it to 16 countries just six months after its debut at MIPCOM 2007, and 37 versions were acknowledges as of August 2009. At the start of the decade, dating format Alternative Love from TBS, distributed by Bellon Entertaiment, was the most adapted format. NTV's Dragon's Den, distributed by Sony Pictures' 2waytraffic then became the most travelled format, before being overtaken by Hole in the Wall.

Pioneers of the exportation of Japanese formats were Greg and Joe Bellon, whose Bellon Entertainment started licensing from TBS in 1986. First was Waku Waku Animal Land; followed by the TBS footage and format that formed the basis for America's Funniest Home Videos. Happy Family Plan and Takeshi's Castle were two more of some 30 TBS formats licensed worldwide. Tim Crescenti founded Small World IFT in 2005, entering into a relationship with NTV. When at Sony Pictures Television, Crescenti spotted Dragons Den. Now the company successfully sells World Records, Old Enough, Masquerade, Silent Library and Train of Thought.

Following the success of Hole in the Wall, FremantleMedia formed an alliance with TV Man Union in April 2008. Longtime Fuji TV exec Shingo Ishimaya became president and representative of FremantleMedia Japan in March 2009. Outright Distribution sells formats from TV Asahi (such as Ranking the Stars); and June 2009 saw Sparks Network add Tokyo-based Collaboration to its network of format exchanging production companies. 2way traffic (a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company) successfully distributes the likes of Dragons Den and Silent Library.

Japanese formats travel to a wide cross-section of the world: the USA and France lead with five adaptations each, followed by Australia, Israel, Italy, Spain and the US with three adaptations each. Hole in the Wall ranks number one, pushed to this position by France and Argentina which have aired 150 episodes and 200 episodes respectively.

Australia

Australia imported 40 formats in the FRAPA report's three year period, and exported 16. Thank God You're Here! is cited by the report as one of Australia's top formats, having been exported to many countries and then poached by Seven after three successful seasons on Ten. Other Australian-born formats include My Restaurant Rules!, The Block, Celebrity Circus and Strictly Dancing. Scripted formats such as Sons & Daughters, The Restless Years and Prisoner Cell Block H have also been a staple Australian export since the 1970's.

No report about Australia would be complete without mention of TV personality Reg Grundy, who, in the 1970's, set up his own business importing US game shows to remake them for an Australian audience, as well as exporting homegrown soap operas around the world.

Beyond International Ltd has a strong foothold in the US with its show Mythbusters. Popular edutainment series Backyard Science has been remade in France; and September 2008 saw FremantleMedia acquire a 19.99 percent equity in Beyond. Eyeworks Australia made headlines in spring 2009 with documentary series Gangs of Oz, and offers adaptations from its international parent company's catalogue such as My Kid's a Star and the National Driving Test. Founded five years ago, Freehand Media has 25 percent of its equity held by BBC Worldwide.

FremantleMedia Australia launched early 2007, a merger of the Grundy group and Crackerjack Productions, produces the likes of Australian Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. Granada Productions was established in 1998, having enjoyed success with Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation, with Come Dine With Me in the pipeline. Roving Productions is well-known for Rove, Before the Game, and the local version of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Southern Star Group made its name with Home & Away, Love My Way and Bed of Roses – it is now part of Endemol Distribution Group. Working Dog Productions created Thank God You're Here which was quickly picked up by FremantleMedia. Zapruder's Other Film launched The Gruen Transfer in 2008, which has reportedly been sold to eight territories.

C21Media and FRAPA Format Awards 2009

C21Media and FRAPA presented the international format awards in Cannes for the third time. 24,000 clips of the formats in contention were streamed from C21media.net during September, with a total of around 8,000 votes cast. The winners were selected by C21's 30,000 strong community of executives from the worldwide content industry.

The 2009 winning formats were:

Best Competition Reality Format: Relentless (Zig Zag Productions)

Best Comedy Format: I Get That a Lot (CBS Studios International)

Best Multi-screen Format: Married on MySpace (Endemol)

Best Observational Documentary Format: Undercover Boss (All3Media International),

Best Gameshow: Pretty Smart (Talpa Distribution)

Best Scripted Format: Being Erica (BBC Worldwide, produced by Canada's Temple Street)

Promising some more stars from the "format firmament," Lyle then introduced one former Endemol chief, Mike Morley, to introduce another former Endemol chief, the winner of this

year's Gold Award for services to the format industry, Peter Bazalgette.

Baz then wowed the crowd with an acceptance speech that covered the current state of the business and compared it to the "remarkably creative 1990s," when three big genres – reality TV, the Q&A quiz and the talent show – were reinvented, paving the way for a global business now worth US$13.3bn. That figure was bandied about a number of times last night, mostly by FRAPA board member Lyle, plugging the association's latest report on the international formats business.

Ute Biernat, chair of FRAPA and CEO of GRUNDY Light Entertainment, said: "I am very proud to present this award for the third time with our partner C21Media. This evening brings together creative people from all over the world to celebrate formats and the power they have in the industry."

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