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How hit TV shows move around the world

Local variations of the British hit show, Come Dine With Me, have been produced in 40 countries. Now countries like Korea and Israel and Argentina too have become exporters.

Crossing frontiers is becoming more and more lucrative – via television – ever since the 1990s. Hit game shows, reality shows and dramas produced in one country are being bought and adapted for dozens of countries around the world. Such trans-national migration also racks up global trade worth billions every year.

Take the British reality TV programme Come Dine with Me. Though the format was British, when the Brazilians bought the rights, the programme changed although the essence was the same. In the UK, Come Dine with Me shows a group of four amateur chefs competing against each other to host a dinner party for each other.

In Brazil that became a four-hour live talk show presented by a popular celebrity and her puppet parrot. The programme includes pre-recorded video clips, which the parrot and presenter then discuss.

The UK has long been the world's top exporter of ideas, followed by the US and the Netherlands, but countries such as Scandinavia, South Korea, Israel and Argentina have all become serious players too.

Recent examples include the South Korean dramas The Good Doctor and Somewhere Between, which were sold to major US network ABC last year. Formats too change frequently, to reflect budget sizes or local customs.

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