Reality TVs popularity has exploded in the last decade, with a new show seemingly popping up weekly at this point. The idea of seeing people doing ‘unscripted’ acts seems to be a strange fascination of people all around the world (just look at the success of Big Brother, Idol and Survivor worldwide). Starting in the 1990s, reality TV has proven to be a media format which can be replicated internationally, while matching the original’s success.
As most reality TV shows followed a tested formula (encourage drama between contestants, push contestants to breaking point for more views, show only the parts of participants personalities which will intrigue interest etc.), the formula can easily be copied and pasted in other countries, even where the culture is completely different (e.g. Big Brother Netherlands {original version} and Pinoy Big Brother, the Phillipines version).
While it would seemingly need to be adapted to fit the cultural differences, Fabienne Darling-Wolf argues in Imagining the Global that there’s been a “move from selling “finished” and, consequently, significantly culturally marked media products to selling more “culturally neutral” formats”, meaning that media formats often try to remove themselves from ‘cultural traps’ such as content that relies heavily on specific cultural references, thus allowing them success as ‘re-hashed’ shows in international and culturally dissimilar countries. She argues this “has eroded the relative economic advantage of powerful countries with the capital to develop extensive production facilities supported by a vast national market”. This allows smaller or less influential countries to create content (especially reality TV) that has the potential to reach international audiences, for example Netherlands with Big Brother).
This tells us the modern media environment is quite uniform, favouring the use of successful and “culturally neutral” media formats as there’s a good chance for success, and potential for the franchise to experience (in some cases seemingly unstoppable) growth. This is one of the reasons there’s been so many remakes of all media formats (although not always successful). For example, hit UK show The Inbetweeners, had an American version, which although failing to make its mark, is an example of this idea of ‘rehashing shows’. Even if the show isn’t rehashed, many copycats with largely the same premise will likely pop up hoping to capitalise on the success of the format (e.g. The Masked Singer and The Voice or Idol, The X Factor, … got Talent, etc.). For marketing purposes it’s also much easier to be part of a franchise and be able to market a new show as a “international version of TV show”, as it’s likely that word of the show and some of its success will have been heard internationally.
While this makes the jobs of producers and executives easier, it ultimately reduces the ability for unique shows to be picked up by networks, as the risk associated with starting an untested formula outweighs the almost certain (at least to some point) success of a ‘rehashed show’.
Sources:
Hamish Stephen 