Global Television Formats and Their Impact on Production Cultures: The Remaking of Music Entertainment Television in India

Abstract

This article focuses on the impact of global television formats on local (nonformat) homegrown shows and examines how formats reshape industrial–cultural conventions for local productions. Empirically, the article looks at how (Indian) Idol rewrites cultural values, assumptions, and norms for nonfictional entertainment, particularly music talent shows in India. Using a production studies approach, analysis zooms in on production negotiations—the strategies and goals of the Idol format, specific calculations targeting Indian market, and how rival, homegrown shows review and revise (or reject) a format’s appeals. By investigating how producers from local nonformat shows such as Saregamapa (discussed further in the article) deliberate and rewrite their productions to challenge and overcome Idol’s allure while also adopting Idol’s features, this article argues that format copying is a coping mechanism, which reveals the tactical, creative, and cultural responses to the power of global media capital and not creative lethargy or mere copycatting.