“7 Best” Public Broadcasting Formats:
2008 winners announced

Geneva, 10 October 2008 - Top creative minds in public TV are pleased to announce this year’s 7 best formats:

New Anatomy Show– NHK Japan – science entertainment. An innovative and fun science show that uses simple techniques and humour to answer everyday questions on how the extraordinary mechanisms inside the human body work.

How to – VRT Belgium – reality show
“How To” books promise perfection, but do they work?  This format tests these manuals to destruction on subjects such as How to become a Spy.

The Speaker  – BBC UK – factual entertainment
Teenagers talk honestly and passionately about what really matters to them in a search for the nation’s best young public speaker.

My Funky Family – DR Denmark – children’s format
Turn your family into the coolest pop band in the world in five days.

Country Women’s Cooking – SF Switzerland – reality show  
A light-hearted competition between country women who like to cook and like to eat, as they rival each other to showcase the best of Swiss regional cuisine.

Il Recuperatore – RAI Italy – reality show
For anyone who ever lent something to a friend, but can never get it back, Il Recuperatore gets the job done.

Open Newsroom– SVT Sweden – Internet journalism 
A behind-the-scenes experience of the news organization that invites visitors into the on-going journalistic process.  The format is a blog-style web site which is updated daily with video clips and short texts.

“Public Service Broadcasters are competing very successfully with private channels for top commercial formats,” says Bettina Brinkmann, Head of Formats and Special Events at Eurovision TV. “The Eurovision Creative Forum is exclusively reserved for public service broadcasters and EBU active and associate Members within Europe and from abroad,” continues Brinkmann.

The "7 Best" were selected at the end of last month at the Eurovision Creative Forum, organised in Berlin by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the German public broadcaster, ZDF. The event is a unique, annual format exchange and network platform that offers EBU Members the opportunity to trade existing formats, coproduce new formats, share production and studio facilities as well as share experiences, and pool their creative potential.

"Formats attract big audiences the world over and they have an important role to play in public service broadcasting. But it's important to keep them fresh and relevant,” explains forum delegate, David Morgenstern, Development Executive, BBC Entertainment, UK. “ The Eurovision Creative Forum is proving to be an effective way of finding out about the best and most original formats of the moment," he concludes.
 
The EBU are initiating distribution of the “7 Best” formats on behalf of its Members. We will be showcasing screeners of the “7 Best” trailers at the EBU Booth (LR2-06) at MIPCOM.  

For more information, please contact:

Eurovision TV
Murielle Megias (in Cannes from Monday 13 to Wednesday 15 October)
Tel : +41 22 717 2216
Mobile : +41 79 784 28 24  
megias@ebu.ch

Eurovision TV
Karen Mazzoli (in Cannes on Monday 13 October)
Media Officer
Tel :+41 22 7172415
Mobile: +41 79 832 8129
mazzoli@ebu.ch

Note to editors:

EBU and Eurovision TV

Eurovision TV is a brand of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). The Formats and Special Events Unit at Eurovision TV develops new in-house formats in various genres together with Members.  

The EBU helps Europe's public service broadcasters (75 active Members, 45 associate Members) to deliver unique high quality European programming to their audiences. It offers Members technical, operational and legal services, and coordinates a growing supply of quality European content for radio, television and new platforms. It provides Members with information and analysis on media trends, and training designed to meet their needs. The EBU works to secure recognition of the crucial role of public service broadcasters in Europe's digital audiovisual landscape. More on www.ebu.chand www.eurovisiontv.com