Producers and broadcasters like entertainment formats for three reasons. Firstly, because they are a proven proposition. Secondly, because viewers like to watch them live – which means they are TiVo-resistant. And thirdly, because hit formats can generate a huge financial upside.

So it’s no surprise that formats were being bigged-up at DISCOP, the eastern European-targeted program market that took place in mid-June. Endemol, MTV, all3media and Zodiak, to name only a few, all pitched up in Budapest with enough formats to fill a Russian entertainment channel from now until the next Cold War.

So what does it take to make a blockbusting, money-spinning format? Well, if I knew the answer to that I’d be frequenting John de Mol’s hairdresser, Mark Burnett’s tailor and Simon Cowell’s dentist more often. But I can at least provide a few pointers to start you in the right direction.

Provide uplifting or emotive personal journeys

Dancing with the Stars, …Got Talent, I’m a Celebrity, Next Top Model and The Apprentice all continue to do the business because they provide a platform for emotive individual stories. Britain’s Got Talent’s Susan Boyle was born to be a television star even though she didn’t know it until three months ago.

Audiences have to say, ‘I love/hate you!’, ‘I could be you!’ or ‘OMG! Poor you!’ Even better, a combination of these.

Make sure there’s scope for cross-platform content

Because the above series are about unpacking stories, they lend themselves to discussion shows on secondary channels and clips for the Internet or mobile. Broadcasters with a digital void to fill will expect nothing less. Think about the potential for celebrity specials or brand extensions (such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’s spin-off 50-50).

Ideas are OK, but don’t be scared of being derivative

Everyone else is doing it so why not you? Pop Stars, Idol, X Factor and Got Talent could all have been fertilized in the same test tube. Ditto the never-ending list of celebrity dance extravaganzas. The key to having a hit format is not just the idea, but the ability to execute well and get the show out to multiple markets.

DISCOP saw all3media launch Objective’s challenge format The Cube. It sounds a bit similar to Fort Boyard, The Crystal Maze and Krypton Factor. But who will care if international audiences like it?

Be prepared for the long haul

It’s nice to sell to 100 territories in six months. But it can take longer. Deal or No Deal debuted in Holland in 2000 before going on to pick up deals in Australia, Italy and Turkey around 2003. However, it wasn’t until the 2005 U.S. and U.K. versions that the show took off. This isn’t unusual.

Hardwire production flexibility into the concept

Ensure production flexibility. Endemol’s Wipeout is affordable to broadcasters because all local versions are shot on a single set in Argentina. The result is that: a) local versions deliver huge scale on small budgets; and b) acquisitions look attractive.

At DISCOP, NTN Ukraine bought U.S., U.K. and Australian versions of the show. Similarly, ITV Global has just sold I’m a Celebrity to SET India, reducing costs by shifting the set from Australia to Malaysia. Elsewhere, ITVG’s Come Dine with Me is a winner because it is a low-cost, high-volume show which lends itself to reruns. (At DISCOP, Slovenian broadcaster Pro Plus announced it would make 120 x 30 episodes.)

Create room for commercialization

We’re not trying to win the Pulitzer here. Do what you can to unlock revenue streams. Music talent shows are of interest to record labels and mobile phone sponsors. Real-life or task-based shows can be attractive to ad agencies. So can quiz shows.

Group M recently bought a piece of Lucky Day’s Word Play to exploit internationally. Big proviso: don’t rip off the punters! The printed press thrive on uncovering abuses like the U.K. premium-rate calls scandal.

There’s no such thing as bad PR, so milk it

Celebs work, particularly if they behave like real people. So raise your glasses to CBS show I Get That a Lot, in which celebs pass themselves off as ordinary folk in regular jobs. Celebrity loudmouths like Piers Morgan (Got Talent), Jeremy Clarkson (Top Gear) and Gordon Ramsay (Hell’s Kitchen) generate noisy PR. So do/did exhibitionists like Paris Hilton and the late Anna Nicole Smith. Warts-and-all honesty and outspoken opinions are like a magnet for TV audiences.

The question is: How far can you go? In June, Ramsay offended Australians so much that even the country’s PM waded in. Ratings will tell us if he went over the top.

Jeopardy, capriciousness, subversion, injustice!!

Millionaire gave us jeopardy and The Weakest Link showed us that being smart could work against you. Deal or No Deal’s genius is that contestants don’t even need to be clever anymore as long as they are risking everything. The prospect of changed circumstances is highly emotive.

If there’s a trend right now it’s change for the better, as in shows like The Secret Millionaire and Village on a Diet. Explore the potential to subvert clichés and processes (Beat your Host!, Beat the Blondes, Ladette to Lady, etc.).

Postscript: so what would I pitch?

PopSwap: Forgotten musical acts try to resuscitate their careers by performing in someone else’s well-known style. Two acts duel against each other – using each other’s material and image. The audience votes, etc.

Doppelganger: Celebrities meet physical doubles who are down on their luck. One of those doubles will see their life transformed by their celebrity ‘twin.’

Remember, you heard it here first.

SO WHAT WENT DOWN AT DISCOP?

Zodiak was touting Twist & Shout, in which musical acts go head to head in musical duels. While singing, everything is done to put them off, ranging from an ice-water plunge to singing with animals or upside down. That was enough to attract ATV Turkey.

Endemol’s self-explanatory America’s Most Smartest Model was licensed to MTV Russia, while Target-distributed dating show Next went to LNK Lithuania (the reinvention of relationship formats is a trend).

New offerings included Dutch producer I Care’s Saved, in which victims of a life-threatening incident are reunited with their rescuer. Lion TV’s House Swap helps people swap homes. Is it me, or does that title sound familiar?