Ben Packwood, VP Sales CEE at All3Media International, talked to CEETV about the company’s partnership with Polish broadcaster TVN on three flagship formats – Kitchen Nightmares, Gogglebox and Be My Guest, as well as the TV formats in Central and Eastern Europe.

The exec revealed that format trends in the CEE region are varied from nation to nation and there is never a guarantee that a success in one country will also work for its neighbor; but on the whole the region has always been a great partner for All3Media formats: "Historically, it was a region that is fairly risk-averse and may wait for proven success in Western Europe before committing to new ideas. This is definitely a trend that I am seeing change. Poland and Hungary in particular are territories that are willing to take a chance on formats that are new to the marketplace. They are such competitive TV markets right now that being quick off the mark is important in securing the latest IP."

In terms of genre trends, Packwood is seeing increased requests for daily series and All3Media International is having lots of conversations about adapting weekly shows to for use in a stripped schedule. “Alongside this the main request recently is for family-friendly content that can be played pre-watershed. And of course, the next big Saturday night entertainment show! We have had a huge success with The Traitors globally including the CEE region and I am very much looking forward to more local series launching in the coming months. Reality formats packed full of twists on the genre are very popular and we have huge interest in our MIPCOM launch, The Underdog, which adds a new level of interest to the typical reality competition.”

The executive also revealed details about Kitchen Nightmares which recently launched its season 25 and Gogglebox which returned for a 20th season in Poland. “Kitchen Nightmares and Gogglebox are two of our most successful formats globally and TVN has done a fantastic job with both brands over the years and built such a loyal Polish audience for them. Next spring will see Gogglebox’s 20th season and 10 years since it launched on TTV. And over on TVN, the wonderful Magda Gessler continues to shock audiences with the state of restaurant businesses, the 25th season of Kitchen Nightmares is airing now. Both of these formats are tried and tested around the world now but the fantastic production and casting of the Polish versions are testament to their success," Packwood noted.

CEETV also asked the exec about the adaptation of Four in a Bed: “Be My Guest, known in the UK as Four in a Bed or sometimes Three in a Bed has done astoundingly well on Channel 4 over the years, reaching 1000 episodes. We’re very excited to see TVN recently launch their own weekly adaptation on Sundays in access prime. Coming out of COVID times, this format is a perfect combination of character-packed competition and the hospitality setting, an industry that we’re all happy to be back on its feet. We’ve also seen a surge in interest in other titles that were difficult to impossible to produce during recent years, namely Race Across the World which I hope to see confirmed in a CEE territory soon,” Packwood said.