#AfricaMonth: Hitting the buzzer for local TV format

Launch Factory's TV show Down for the Guap, produced for Vuzu TV, walked away with the title ‘best game show’ at the 2016 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs). These awards are important as they recognise and celebrate the creative blood, sweat and tears that go into work produced for local audiences and shine a light on advancements and new developments in our industry.

The Launch Factory team at the SAFTAs

Down for the Guap did just that, as it “broke TV game show conventions; was bold, edgy and unapologetically South African, urban and youth-orientated”. That in itself was groundbreaking as in recent years we just haven’t seen a local game show generate excitement and engagement on social media.

A game show that resonates with its audience

To emulate this success, Zake says you need to find a gap in the market that speaks to the audience’s interests and aspirations. Down for the Guap, for example, is more about friendship and immersing viewers in a world they identify with at a meaningful level than it is about the cash prize. That’s why he urges producers to craft format elements that entertain and excite their audiences – a huge part of the social media hype around the show was the fact that the youth got to see themselves on TV, making them ‘almost celebrities’ in their own right.

When developing Down for the Guap the local TV show landscape was found to be lacking a youth-based, fun game show. Zake says, “Similar to what MTV did in the early 2000s with shows like Ashton Kutcher’s Punk’d and Nick Cannon’s Wild ‘n Out… we tapped into youth culture in a way that no other game shows were doing.” In order for the show to be an expression of young urban South African fun they went with first-time hosts, TJ and Laryngitis of Running with the Reps fame, who proved themselves as a winning formula that went on to stand out amongst all game shows in the country.

Part of that stand-out factor is that the weekly show invites pairs of young siblings, couples and friends to test their friendship in outrageous challenges, for the chance to take home R10,000 in addition to notching up an awesome experience. That ‘awesome experience’ ranges from the first challenge, which sees the nominated friend – at that stage unaware they’re on a show – proving they’re up for the challenge, as well as the losing team going through punishment along the lines of downing vinegar shots to embracing a cow dung full body massage and facial. Watch the teaser video embedded below if you missed the show's first season:

Sphumelele Sibeko, head of reality and entertainment: M-Net local entertainment channels, says: “Down for the Guap was a first of its kind for Vuzu Amp. Exploring this new show format was really exciting for us as a channel and for our viewers. The action in each episode translated into really fun engagement every week. ” That’s why it was a clear winner for the channel. It’s based on an inherently ‘out of the box’ concept that pushes boundaries for both viewers and contestants – something that needs to be emulated across the continent.

What African TV needs to prosper

Fun aside, Zake says the industry needs more platforms to showcase and celebrate African work and the power of local storytelling and formats through TV and film. As an emerging market continent, we need a drive to support and celebrate African work. And as African brands, broadcasters and producers, Zake calls on the industry as a whole to make a collective effort to boost and support local formats that can be exported to international territories. Doing so will increase our creative contribution to the global creative Industry, which is worth $2.2tn at present, with Africans contributing less than 1% of this.

That’s why Zake says the National Film and Video Foundation or NFVF should be highly commended for providing the SAFTAs as a platform – there’s fierce competition that inspires the creation of cutting edge and gripping content, as the bar is continuously raised – as well as for putting in place various structures that facilitate the growth of local formats against an aggressive international format market.

It’s time to step up and make the African TV formats known across the globe! Click here for insights from Launch Factory on native advertising and follow them on Twitter.