117 adaptations were commissioned or aired in Asia in the first nine months of 2024 – a 19% decline in the same period last year. Banijay Rights leads formats distribution in Asia by volume for the first nine months of this year, ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook shows. 

At least 117 adaptations were commissioned, underway or on air in Asia in the first nine months of this year, according to ContentAsia’s Formats Outlook ongoing report, which tracks formats adaptations in 18 countries.

By genre, reality (dominated by singing-related titles) topped the formats chart with 52 titles, followed by game shows with 32 titles and scripted formats with 27 titles in Jan-Sept this year.

Overall, volume for the first nine months of 2024 was down 19% (28 titles) compared to 145 adaptations during the same period in 2023.

Despite the downward trends, Banijay Rights continues to lead in formats distribution in Asia by volume for the first nine months of this year, albeit with significantly fewer titles, the latest report shows.

Banijay Rights accounted for 20 formats (17% of total 117) from January to September this year, down from 30 titles during the same period last year.

India has emerged as Banijay’s strongest formats market by volume so far this year, with five titles commissioned or currently airing through the end of September. These include several versions of "Big Brother", such as "Big Brother Kannada" S10 and "Big Brother Hindi" S17 (locally known as "Bigg Boss Hindi") for Colors, "Big Brother Tamil" S7 for Star Vijay, and "Bigg Boss OTT" S3 for JioCinema Premium.

Mongolia and Thailand are Banijay’s next highest markets by volume, featuring shows such as "Spelling Star" S3 on Mongolia’s Edu TV and "First and Last Thailand" S7/S8 for BBTV Channel 7.

Of Banijay’s 20 formats, 12 were reality shows, including cooking format "MasterChef Junior Thailand" S3 commissioned by BBTV Channel 7; seven game shows, including "Don’t Forget The Lyrics Myanmar" commissioned by the Forever Group Myanmar for MRTV4 and Pyone Play; and one drama adaptation, season three of "Aarya", the Indian remake of Dutch crime/thriller Penoza, commissioned by Disney+ Hotstar.

Banijay Rights has topped Asia’s distribution charts by volume for the past two years, with 47 titles in 2022 and 31 titles in 2023, when it shared the top spot with Fremantle.

For the first nine months this year, Fremantle accounted for 16 (14%) of the total 117 formats, consisting of nine game shows, including multiple versions of "Family Feud" in Indonesia (commissioned by MNCTV), Malaysia (in Chinese and Malay languages, commissioned by Astro), Mongolia (Star TV), Philippines (GMA) and Thailand (One31); and seven reality formats, including three versions of big-budget singing reality "Idol" format in Cambodia (Hang Meas HDTV), India (Sony Entertainment Television) and Indonesia (RCTI).

Indonesia was Fremantle’s strongest market with seven titles to end September 2024, followed by Malaysia, Mongolia and Thailand with two titles each.

Korea’s CJ ENM ranked third by volume on the distribution chart for the first nine months of this year. The company recorded 13 titles (11%), which consisted of five drama, four game shows, and four reality formats. For CJ ENM, Vietnam stood out, with game shows like "My Boyfriend is Better" for FPT Play and reality dancing competition "Street Woman Fighter", premiered on HTV7 in July this year.

ITV Studios had 12 titles(10%), all reality formats. The Philippines is ITV Studios’ top market, with multiple seasons/versions of reality singing format, The Voice.  

NBCUniversal Formats accounted for 11 titles (9.4%), primarily consisting of reality shows with five titles, followed by drama, game shows, and variety shows, each with two titles.

In total, the top five formats distributors by volume – Banijay Rights, Fremantle, CJ ENM, ITV Studios and NBCUniversal Formats – accounted for 62% (72 titles) of the total 117 adaptations from January to September this year.

▶ Published in ContentAsia's Oct/Nov 2024 Magazine