WALL OF FAME WINS BEST COMEDY AWARD AT THE 2011 C21/FRAPA FORMAT AWARDS.
MIPCOM NEWS 06/10/11: Dutch talent format The Voice and these awards’ first French winner were among those taking home kudos at the fifth annual C21/Frapa format awards tonight.
The sunset cocktail event was hosted on Cannes beach by Wife Swap and Undercover Boss creator and exec producer Stephen Lambert, of All3Media-backed Studio Lambert.
“The international format business was worth about €9.3bn in 2009, according to Pact in the UK. I always follow three rules for success in this industry,” he said, as the sun plopped into the Mediterranean Sea on day three of Mipcom here in Cannes.
“First, listen to your wife. Mine woke me up one night and said we should do a real-life version of Pygmalion, and that idea turned into Faking It. It shows that the heart of a good format is often a very simple idea and anyone can have those.
“Secondly, always blow your budget on the pilot; you cannot pinch the pennies on the pilot. Thirdly, always launch your new format after Superbowl. That’s what CBS did with Undercover Boss. It shows that you always need broadcaster support to make your formats succeed.”
The gala event continued with the winners of seven categories being announced.
The best studio-based gameshow award went to Epic Win from BBC Worldwide; the best comedy award was picked up by Wall of Fame from Hat Trick International; and Angels of Reality from Can’t Stop Media took the best factual entertainment format, marking the first time a French format has won anything at the C21/Frapa format awards.
The best multiplatform format award went to The Only Way is Essex from All3Media International; the best brand-generated format ward was won by nPower – What’s Your Goal from North One Television; and the best scripted format award was handed to BBC Worldwide for Friday Night Dinner.
The Voice, the talent format from John de Mol’s Talpa Distribution that has been picked up by the BBC in the UK and NBC in the US, among others, was handed the best competition reality award.
Frapa chairman and CEO of National Geographic Channels David Lyle wrapped the event by spreading the word about Frapa’s new report into intellectual property protection, adding: “This event prides itself on being the shortest awards ceremony in TV.”
