Ahead of unveiling a lineup that includes the supersized reality concept The Neighbourhood and the social experiment Apocalypse, Mike Beale, managing director of ITV Studios’ Creative Network, offers his thoughts on trends reshaping entertainment formats.
What’s your sense of what buyers are looking in the format space currently, and how have you crafted your LTVS slate to meet those needs?
It goes without saying that buyers need shows with a proven track record, and we are lucky to have a number of titles in that space, like The Voice, Love Island, and I’m A Celebrity. We will be bringing the latest news and updates on those titles. They know that they also need—new things they can market to excite the audiences they have and entice those floating audiences who come to the big new phenomenon.
We will keep the buyers intrigued and up to date about the formats we launched in 2025 that are due to air this spring, including Nobody’s Fool, Celebrity Sabotage, and World’s Apart.
We are lucky to be delivering all this, as well as our three new launches, The Neighbourhood, Apocalypse, and The Heat; formats we believe can deliver a multi-generational audience and feel different in a crowded market of psychological reality. We are aware that it is not just about the idea; cost and delivery are very important, and we are working hard with our partners to find solutions to make these formats happen.
The creator economy is impacting every sector; how do you see it influencing the entertainment formats space?
For us, the creator space gives a triumvirate of opportunity—launching our existing/catalogue brands in new and interesting ways, working with creators on their output, and looking to take their content to terrestrial TV globally, and as a development playground to try new ideas and gather data for our wider buyers.
How critical is it to have a social video strategy as you roll out new formats and maintain engagement between seasons?
We think this is very important, but not rocket science. Working with Zoo55 and our broadcast partners globally, we bring a balance of shoulder content, extensions, and clips of our formats to widen the audience.
As so much of the business becomes about “engagement”, are you seeing shifts in how success is defined?
I would say the two key things are engagement and fandom. How do we ensure fans of the shows are properly delivered, which reflects in the digital strategies mentioned. But it is clear we need to make our formats ‘undeniable,’ not only for the buyers but also for the audiences we hope to attract. The shows have to be must-sees, which means events, live performances, and strong hooks to drive the audience through a series.
At what point in a format brand’s lifespan can you start thinking about live events or other franchise-building opportunities?
Success is the key. With success, you have the fan base to explore these kinds of activities; without that, they will be costly failures.
What new funding and partnership strategies are emerging in the entertainment formats space?
We are open for discussion. We have partnered across territories (Apocalypse with Channel 4 and Foxtel), developed into other non-core territories (Go Fishing with ZMG China), and looked to move development around the business (Nobody’s Fool—U.S. to U.K). We are looking at creator partnerships, as well as other formats, and I am sure there are opportunities we don’t know about yet but are happy to explore.
