Tinopolis subsidiary Mentorn, which makes Question Time, has had success selling formats into the US.
The corporation's commercial arm is thriving abroad, selling formats to American broadcasters and launching pay-TV channels.
Claire Hungate, chief executive of Shed Media, says that 70-80% of that company's profits now come from intellectual property that is, selling formats and tapes of shows that have already been broadcast, mostly to other countries.Alex Mahon, president of Shine Group, points to another reason for British creativity.
While shows such as The X Factor may pull in massive ratings and ad revenue, the fact that ITV Studios did not create them means that the broadcaster needs to find more mega-hits of its own to make tens of millions of pounds selling formats globally.
"ITV has a great track record in selling formats and programming into other territories, whether it's Dancing on Ice in Russia, Saturday Night Takeaway in China or the hundreds of millions of people who have seen Prime Suspect worldwide," said Airey.
"The broad-based strength delivered across countries, categories, and selling formats demonstrates the responsiveness of the business to new initiatives.
Or the Deal or No Deal format being sold to more than 70 countries worldwide?
Syco and ITV Studios are yet to finalise key elements of the co-production deal, including who will take the lead in the potentially lucrative, and prestigious, role of selling the format internationally if it becomes a hit.
Good quality 4K sources look emphatically rich in resolution and sharpness, really selling the format's advantages.
