FormatBiz | Industry veteran, friend and dear colleague Peter Van den Bussche passed away

The television landscape mourns the loss of Peter Van den Bussche, a stalwart figure and innovator in the industry, who succumbed to a brief illness, leaving friends, colleagues, and industry leaders deeply saddened by his sudden departure.
This terrible news has been published today by C21Media as a breaking news.

Peter known by all of us by the acronym of PVDB was a truly expert of formats. Peter worked for the most important Distributor from Endemol to 20th Century Fox and lastly to Eccholine.

He played a pioneering role in championing the sale of unscripted formats for the Dutch powerhouse, including iconic titles like Big Brother and Changing Rooms, but he also pushed the reality format Pekin Express to the highest level we all know. He knew the Trade markets, the circuits of people and was really an expert of formats.

This is my personal memory of our friendship that began 25 years ago at Mediaset:

"I met Peter during the golden years of formats, when the history of television changed with the arrival of the first reality shows, starting with Big Brother. At that time, we're talking about the early 2000s, Peter worked for Endemol, while I was an employee at Mediaset Italia. I remember our phone call when Canale 5 aired the first episode of Grande Fratello in Italy, after the buzz created in the Italian press due to the famous "confessional" that caused quite a stir in some Vatican circles. The ratings weren't brilliant, but Peter reassured me: don't worry, it's a revolutionary format, it will do very well. And so it was. Later on, Peter changed jobs, always working for important international companies, and he always stood out for his great professionalism and expertise. He was truly a format expert, and it was a pleasure to listen to his analyses. He knew how to sell a format, he prepared and approached meetings with great professionalism. He listed the strengths and weaknesses; he was truly a master in sales because he knew the international market perfectly and understood the mechanisms that govern the world of the unscripted formats (see Peking Express another big title that he used to sell)".

Peter, we will miss you greatly.

I extends my deepest condolences, on behalf of all of us at FormatBiz, to Chloe and to Peter's family.

(M.Chiara Duranti)