Digital Media Cultures - Formats

I found today's lecture really interesting, the subject was Television Formats. I'd never thought much about them but it's surprising how much of our TV schedules they take up! ..Whether that's a good or bad thing i'm yet to decide.

So what is a format? 
     'A TV format describes the overall concept, premise and branding of a copyrighted television program.'

A format is licensed by a TV network, who then produce a version of the show in their own country to suit their specific audience and nationality. Formats have become a major part of the global television market, mainly because they:

• Are an already-proven idea, creating a lower risk for failure
• Are preferred by national audiences who can relate to them, rather than canned foreign shows.

Popular examples of formats include:

• X Factor
• Strictly come Dancing
• Wife Swap
• Big Brother

Most interestingly formats allow us to think of the globalized world, looking at how formats are adapted into different cultures helps to see how diverse we are. Yet they raise the question of homogenization. 

That is literally just a short overview of formats, but I think they're an interesting commodity in the media world.. One i'm seriously considering using for my essay.