Development of program format adaptation in Nordic public service television

Abstract

<p>As highly standardized products of the commercialized and globalized television industry, program formats constitute a potential threat to public service broadcasting and national television industries. Despite their complex relationship with format imports and adaptations, public service broadcasters have produced format adaptations for decades. By examining the characteristics and development of format imports and adaptation in Finnish public service broadcasting, this article provides periodization from the 1960s to the 2020s. Finland is one of the Nordic Media Welfare States, but unlike its peers, it has had both commercial and public service television since the late 1950s, which resulted in a more competitive media environment. While formats provided many benefits to Yle, the Finnish public service broadcaster, they have also been a source of controversy for decades. Through periods of casual adaptations (1960s–1980s) as well as ambitious experimentation and long-lasting successes (1990s–2000s), Yle finally entered the age of format development and export in the 2010s.<br></p>