The format buyer

We’ve had a period of five years building out our SVoD service as the main entrance for audiences, and we really have built a very strong position in Denmark. Over the past few years, we’ve focused on our reality slate and over the next one or two, we’ll have quite a few gaps on our entertainment slate.

By entertainment, I don’t mean the classic studio or talent show – we’re looking for something entertaining as its core purpose but told like a reality series. It’s probably a competition-driven series with an emphasis on world building and the universe you enter as a viewer – what draws you in.

When we talk to Danish producers, especially, we try to give them lots of information on what makes a good universe. This is what we can see really works with The Traitors and [Korean format] Bloody Game, which we’ve just started airing.

We look at our slate in terms of genres rather than channel brands. Although we’re specifically looking for dating shows, there are always shows coming up that blow my mind and make me think about whether we have room in our schedule for them. If we aren’t open to possibilities, we will miss out on the next big thing, and that’s not something we can afford to do at this time.

Entertainment focus

A word I use a lot when talking to producers about the entertainment-reality hybrids we’re looking for is ‘significant’. Other people might use ‘original’, but I think that sounds like you’re trying to reinvent things. That’s not the case. It’s more like a twist to a genre in a way that stands out.

But it has to be significant in comparison to the other shows in that genre like Strictly Come Dancing, The X Factor, The Traitors, Taskmaster, The Floor and The Box (pictured top), which is in production – big formats with big emotions.

“We’re looking for a format that can make the audience feel something physically – either by making them cry or giving them goosebumps”

We specifically have four slots for 2026, and entertainment is the priority. One of them is Friday night, the most prestigious slot on TV2. We’re looking for a format that can make the audience feel something physically – either by making them cry or giving them goosebumps – and that encourages co-viewing, which is critical.

While Friday is for big emotions, Saturday night is pure humour and comedy. Then I’m looking for our secondary channel TV2 Charlie, which is purely entertainment. Here we’ve been dominated by studio shows, but we’re trying to be different.

We commissioned The Floor, which is a studio show but has a very different structure because it has a series arc. So we’re looking for something like that for Charlie: competition with reality, maybe with some soft game elements as well.

This spring we’re looking to fill our slots for 2026 and along with our big pitch round in Denmark, I’m scouting internationally. I quite like the look of ITV Studios’ The Neighbourhood and look forward to hearing more about it at the Screenings.

There is still a gap in ideas due to low commissioning output, which forces us to be more creative and look to other places to find ideas that stand out. Our neighbours up in Norway are doing an amazing job at the moment. I might be a bit over-informed of what’s coming from Europe so I’m difficult to surprise, but what’s coming from Asia is always fun and surprisingly bold.

Purpose is key. In Denmark, we have so many documentaries and that’s instructive: our viewers are used to having a purpose in the things they watch. In entertainment, an example could be Banijay Entertainment’s Shaolin Heroes – how can we make the viewers reflect on how they live their lives?

We’re looking for escapism more than ever – looking to bring more light into our shows. That’s where I think the next big hits should be.