C21 launches weekly format-industry interview series with 3Rivers' Rijssemus

The series arrives as the format industry undergoes significant consolidation and structural change. With Banijay's pending acquisition of All3Media (announced March 2026, per Deadline) combining roughly 30% of the format market under one roof, and streamers increasingly acquiring proven formats rather than commissioning only originals, understanding which ecosystems produce hits has direct strategic value. Rijssemus brings practitioner credentials — he oversaw The Traitors at IDTV, now the top-selling format of the 2020s with 47 adaptations (per K7, via Deadline, May 2026). Watch whether the series surfaces actionable ecosystem-level insights or remains a retrospective on format history.

The format industry Rijssemus will examine is mid-transformation. Banijay announced its acquisition of All3Media in March 2026, a deal combining the two companies' format catalogs — including MasterChef, Survivor, The Traitors, and Big Brother — under one roof, occupying roughly 30% of the global format market. Per Deadline (March 2026), Marco Bassetti will lead the combined entity as CEO, with €50M in identified synergies. The merger directly links two of Rijssemus's confirmed interviewees: Bassetti and the All3Media portfolio Rijssemus once ran across the DACH region.

Rijssemus's own credential — overseeing The Traitors at IDTV — places him at the center of the decade's defining format story. Per K7's "Tracking the Unscripted Giants" report (via Deadline, May 2026), The Traitors is the top-selling new format of the 2020s, with 47 adaptations representing 20.8% of all new format launches since 2020. Variety reported in early 2026 that the format has been commissioned in 40 territories, with 16 new versions confirmed for 2026 alone. The BBC's celebrity edition finale drew 15 million viewers, the UK's top-rated broadcast of the year.

Meanwhile, streaming platforms have shifted from commissioning only original scripted content to actively acquiring proven formats for volume and cost efficiency. Per Vitrina's 2026 format development analysis, Europe generated over 1,500 format releases in 2024, with streamers increasingly favoring known IP offering reliable, scalable production models. Omdia forecast in early 2026 that global SVOD subscriptions will surpass pay-TV in 2026, adding approximately 150 million net new subscriptions (per TelecomLead, January 2026), further intensifying demand for format content that travels across markets.