The aims of this book are twofold: to describe the phenomenon of television programme formats or ideas and their national adaptation in sufficient detail for the reader to grasp what is central dynamic of the contemporary global television scene; and to explore the wider cultural meaning of the practice of cross border format adaptation and the necessary modifications that must be made to theories of global culture.
Divided into four parts, chapter 1 examines the globalization thesis and suggests its modification in the light of the continued viability of national television systems. Chapters 2 to 5 are concerned with the industrial parameters of trade in television programme formats. Chapters 6 to 9 consists of several case studies of national adaptations of both game shows and soap operas. Chapters 10 and 11 examine several segments of the German and Dutch television audience, stressing the variety of ways in which particular social groups do and do not emphasize their sense of national belonging and the role that television format adaptations can play in these processes.
