Format

Traditionally closed as a market, China is slowly revealing itself as a powerhouse of exportable formats, even on the "Western" front. This was also demonstrated by the reception at the sixth edition of Wisdom in China, held during the last MipCom (Cannes, 16-19, October 2023), where some of the most representative production companies in the industry presented their formats and IP to buyers. We are talking about entities such as CCTV, Dragon TV, and Tencent Online Video, presenting titles like "Singing with Legends," "China in the Classics," "The City of Musicals," "The Next", and "The Fairy Tales."

While "China in the Classics" showcases cultural tradition through costume re-enactments,  "The Fairy Tales" combines reality by transporting 10 celebrities to a mysterious kingdom controlled by children. This is an example of entertainment with a musical focus,  in which singing competitions, prevails. Another example is Tencent TV's "The Next" in which 26 singers compete for the title of "The Next."

 More known in Europe is the format "Singing with Legends," aired on Dragon TV since 2019 and capable of attracting 30 million viewers per episode, totaling 1.3 billion streams on online platforms, as highlighted by producer Chen Hong. The show brings together young singers with legends from the past and has been adapted in Spain and optioned in other countries, including Germany, France, and Italy.

Another successful format is Dragon TV's "The City of Musicals," which searches talented people for a role in one of  Broadway's most famous musicals. The format is distributed by iFormats, a platform that collects data from agencies, production companies, and advertising professionals in a vast online database. iFormats also provides market trend analysis for the Asian market, along with valuable information on the complexities of the Asian market. iFormats is emerging as a leading platform for licensing intellectual properties from China.