Transnational television can best be described as a concept, program or idea that takes different forms (Chalaby, 2005). Many existing formats have gone transnational and have worked: for example, cross-border satellite TV channels, international and regional news channels and joint ventures. Chalaby also infers that transnational television takes different forms (Chalaby, 2005) including the international format trade (such as Big Brother, I’m A Celebrity and Got Talent), adaptations and remakes as well as co-productions and distribution arrangements. Transnational television will only work for a format that can be adapted to suit the audiences of the specific country that the show is to be watched from, or countries of a similar nature. There have been several shows over the years that have attempted to go transnational but have dismally failed. These shows that have been unsuccessful include Kath and Kim (from Australia to the USA) and Survivor (from the USA to Australia). Claire Perkins describes transnational television as coming from two categories: “imported series and reality formats – can be understood as extremes – of sameness and difference – along a continuum of television adaptation and remaking” (Perkins, 2015). The phenomenon of transnational television is not only a Western concept, Asia has taken several formats from popular Western society and turned them into popular shows throughout their continent. In Asia, “broadcasting stations compete in importing external contents from popular American productions and other regional productions, locally made productions no longer define a country’s televisionscape.” (Liew, 2011)

Transnational format trades that have worked include the shows previously mentioned as well as the worldwide phenomenon of The Voice. The Voice was originally adapted from the Holland format of the program The Voice of Holland, originally created by Dutch television producer John de Mol. John de Mol is also responsible for being influential in the expansion of other transnational shows such as Big Brother, Deal or No Deal and Fear Factor. While these shows are all extremely successful in their own right, it is The Voice that has truly captivated viewers around the world. With over 60 versions of the program worldwide, not including the spin-off show, The Voice Kids, The Voice is notable for relying solely on the voice’s of the contestants, rather than the appearance of the singer, as well as being notable for the superstar coaches (rather than judges) that the show incorporates. The idea of these gurus being coaches, rather than judges, adds a softer touch than that of its counterpart The X Factor that recently changed from calling their judges to mentors following in the footsteps of The Voice. This show has seen megastar coaches such as will.i.am, Kylie Minogue, Usher, Shakira and Pharrell grace the big red chairs across various countries. While the show has been successful in the ratings across the globe, it has not been successful in producing a star from any of its series across the Australian, UK and US versions – something that shows such as Idol (Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Mauboy, Guy Sebastian) and The X Factor (One Direction, Reece Mastin, Little Mix) have produced.

The Inbetweeners was a major ratings hit for E4 in the UK running for 3 series from 2008 to 2010. The show followed 4 less than popular school students as they navigate their way around schooling, love life and family issues all while getting themselves caught in an uncomfortable and cringeworthy situation. The show attempted to go transnational from the UK to the USA but was at first unsuccessful at getting picked up. However, once the show was eventually picked up by MTV, the show ran for one season before being cancelled due to low ratings (Bibel, 2012). The reason why this show was only successful in the UK and other countries with similar humour is for that reason exactly, the USA has a very different comedy style than the UK which is also why shows such as The Office originally started off terribly when that went from the UK to the USA. The program was not adapted or changed for the US audience, it was simply changed from UK actors to US actors and the script and situations were exactly the same.

 

Bibliography

Bibel, Sara (2012) ‘The Inbetweeners cancelled by MTV’ in TV By The Numbers

Chalaby, Jean K (2005) ‘Introduction’ in Transnational Television Worldwide: Towards a New Media Order

Ferris, Amber L (2007) ‘The Content of Reality Dating Shows and Viewer Perceptions of Dating’ in Journal of Communication

Liew, Kai Khiun (2011) “Transnational Television” in International Journal of Cultural Studies

Ouelette & Murray (2004) ‘Introduction’ in Reality TV: Remaking Television Culture

Perkins, Claire (2015) ‘Transnational television remakes’ in Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies

Syvertsen, Trine (2001) ‘Ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances: a study of participants in television dating games’ in Media, Culture & Society