1 April 2014: Factual formats are on the rise in Asia as programmers expand their local production ambitions, broaden their genre horizons and attempt to leverage international success with, among others, character-driven reality series.Two new first-of-their-kind character-driven biggies in the next few months could reshape Asian schedules. One of these is It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez, from the NBCUniversal regional channels team in Asia, and the other is Mom's Time Out from A+E Networks Asia for Lifetime. Both new shows have multi-season and, at least for the Gutierrez show, spin-off potential. They are also infinitely sponsorable.In the best tradition of Keeping Up with the Kardashians, It Takes Gutz to be a Gutierrez follows the Philippines' Gutierrez family - Eddie, Annabelle, Ruffa, Raymond and Richard - "as they give audiences an unfiltered look at their incredible personal and professional lives". The six-part series, produced by One Mega Group's TV100 in the Philippines, premieres on E! at 9pm on 1 June.A+E Networks Asia's Mom's Time Out for Lifetime is a five-episode series where Mom leaves Dad in charge of the house and kids and takes "time out" from life as mother and wife. Three families in Southeast Asia have already been chosen and the show will air later this year.These follow locally made factual formats such as Hidden Cities Extreme (A+E Networks) and I Wouldn't Go In There (National Geographic Channel). "Factual formats have become increasingly popular in Asia," says Joyce Yeung, BBC Worldwide's executive vice president and general manager, Asia. BBC format Top Gear has made significant progress in South Korea, where the season five finale aired in January this year, and Yeung is obviously hoping to expand the format elsewhere in the region.Still, factual formats are nowhere near the levels being enjoyed by entertainment/competition formats - yet. It's too early to say whether they ever will be, but no one is closing books on the possibility."Factual formats still have a long way to go before they catch up with entertainment formats, but Chinese clients have been very quick to adapt," says Stephen Driscoll, All3Media International's senior vice president, international sales. All3Media has format deals for Undercover Boss with Dragon TV and GoggleBox with Jiangsu.The challenges are clear. "The volume has definitely gone up, with channels ramping up local productions across the region. The biggest challenge for factual producers is to make these shows travel beyond their own borders - and that's where issues like budgets and quality come into play," says Ganesh Rajaram, FremantleMedia International's executive vice president, distribution and home entertainment, Asia.Costs are an issue regional channels and producers in Asia grapple with daily. Format production budgets in Asia generally run from US$1.5 million to US$3 million per series, with upper limits at US$5 million. Most series are only greenlit once sponsor support has been secured."Licensing North American location-based formats is a challenge due to the tremendous costs associated with those productions," says Kate Blank, Breakthrough Entertainment's international distribution director. "Foreign formats with lower production costs, such as game and talent shows that can be shot in studios rather than on location, have the most success in Asia," she adds.Meanwhile, distributors aren't complaining. "For a while now, Asia has been flooded with game show and talent show formats," says Marielle Zuccarelli, A+E Networks' managing director, international content distribution."Following the huge success of a few factual reality series, including some that have originated within Asia, we are receiving more enquiries about our factual formats, many of which are reality-driven," she adds.ContentAsia Issue One 2014