Britannia Rules the Airwaves

If television seems the same everywhere you go, blame the British. They are the world’s biggest exporters of "format TV." That’s the entertainment industry’s term for formula-based shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pop Idol that are distributed to markets throughout the world. Millionaire has been sold to at least 106 ...

If television seems the same everywhere you go, blame the British. They are the world's biggest exporters of "format TV." That's the entertainment industry's term for formula-based shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pop Idol that are distributed to markets throughout the world. Millionaire has been sold to at least 106 countries, and Pop Idol can be found in places as far flung as Iceland, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon. At more than $3 billion a year, the format genre is big business, and the industry newsletter Screen Digest estimates that Britain is responsible for more than 30 percent of it. The top four importers of this Brit-dominated genre are all continental European countries. So, maybe there is a common European culture after all. It's just more Simon Cowell than Immanuel Kant.

If television seems the same everywhere you go, blame the British. They are the world’s biggest exporters of "format TV." That’s the entertainment industry’s term for formula-based shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Pop Idol that are distributed to markets throughout the world. Millionaire has been sold to at least 106 countries, and Pop Idol can be found in places as far flung as Iceland, Kazakhstan, and Lebanon. At more than $3 billion a year, the format genre is big business, and the industry newsletter Screen Digest estimates that Britain is responsible for more than 30 percent of it. The top four importers of this Brit-dominated genre are all continental European countries. So, maybe there is a common European culture after all. It’s just more Simon Cowell than Immanuel Kant.

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