Ed Havard: Destination X reflects a new norm for unscripted TV

Squeezed budgets and intense competition for commissions across Europe and the US are making the unscripted industry a “team sport” when it comes to getting projects greenlit, according to leading NBCUniversal execs.

Unscripted producers have found themselves at the centre of a perfect storm over the past 12 months as streamers and broadcasters pull back spending amid rampant cost inflation.

According to Ed Havard, senior vice-president of Universal International Studios, the result is that deals for unscripted productions will increasingly be modelled on their scripted cousins with multiple partners working together to get shows airborne.

“Drama producers have dealt with this for years but unscripted is now facing it too,” said Havard, who was speaking at MIA (Mercato Internazionale Audiovisivo) in Rome this week. “The days of just having a commission, producer and distributor are over - it’s a team sport now.”

Model behaviour

Havard pointed to Destination X – a joint commission that’s due to debut on Universal sibling NBC and the BBC next year - as an example of how format deals are increasingly incorporating multiple partners.

The NBC and BBC shows are based on Geronimo’s Belgian format, which is sold by Be-Entertainment. ITV Studios-owned Twofour is producing both versions, with Universal Television Alternative Studio coproducing the NBC show, which is being filmed in tandem with the BBC to cut costs.

“We look at how we can collaborate and find partners to create projects that sustain our ambitions but that are also cost efficient and which we can get over the line,” continued London-based Havard.

“[Destination X] is a joint commission so we can share costs, perhaps we might even make hubs that other partners can come into – we’re always looking for new models… so that through partnerships we can elevate projects.”

Destination X’s greenlight followed previous success between NBCU and the BBC with The Traitors, and Havard pointed to the resulting “fantastic scenario” for format creator Geronimo.

“We took US rights and the BBC took rights for the UK, so that helped to put the afterburners on format [sales] for them.”

LA-based Monica Rodman of Universal Television Alternative Studio, added that meeting buyers’ budgets had become vital in the current market where wriggle room for overspend had disappeared.

“Budget is the first thing we think about. And it might not sound that creative but it actually does have that effect because it makes us unlock ideas that we might not have previously thought of, perhaps a different type of resource or technology.”

Rodman added that while formats remain core to the business, documentaries and true crime “are two spaces that are very active,” adding that she is “doubling down” on the latter by looking for partnerships.