Digital creators and YouTubers are redefining the global format industry by turning intellectual property into a fluid source of inspiration. During her «Fresh TV» session at MIP London, Virginia Mouseler, CEO and co-founder of The Wit, urged the traditional TV business to stop focusing solely on «Fresh Formats» and start paying attention to «Fresh Takes.»
According to Mouseler, digital creators and top YouTubers are the new VIPs of the audiovisual world. For them, intellectual property means inspiration. ‘Creators do not take originality too seriously’, she explained, noting that digital stars are far more interested in capitalizing on broad format trends than in licensing or adapting specific format brands.
These creators draw their concepts from a massive blender of pop culture: gaming, real-life (IRL) games, linear television, movies, and even other YouTubers. Mouseler highlighted the UK-based YouTube collective Beta Squad as a prime example of this trend, showcasing how they openly and playfully pull inspiration from various cultural tropes to build their viral challenges.
Tracking the Creator Economy
To help the traditional TV industry navigate this new reality, Mouseler announced that The Wit has launched a «Top Creators Zone» within its 24/7 database. This new feature provides subscribers with deep data and analytics specifically tracking YouTube creators’ content, facilitating co-creation and acquisition strategies.
Despite the disruption from digital creators, traditional format adaptations remain a cornerstone of the global business. Mouseler revealed the top three most-adapted formats worldwide over the past year: The Floor, The A-Talks, and The Traitors.
The Floor secured the number one spot globally, boasting 13 international adaptations launched within a single year. However, in true «Fresh Take» fashion, this massive success has already spawned a new evolutionary trend that Mouseler dubbed «Crowded Floor Games.» She described this new trend as the result of a specific equation: take the mechanics of The Floor, combine it with the high-stakes atmosphere of Squid Game, and multiply it to a gigantic scale.
To illustrate this, Mouseler presented a Chinese «Floor Survival Game Show» that debuted on YouTube last October. Instead of a single flat grid, the show features six different floors, blending mechanics of hide-and-seek, musical chairs, and manhunt. Pitched ominously as «Deadly Game, the live version,» it proves that the format industry’s next massive hits will likely blur the lines between traditional game shows, digital creator aesthetics, and high-stakes survival reality.
