Format Licensing
Format Licensing describes the commercial mechanism by which a television production format (the structural framework, narrative architecture, and creative-property elements of a television series) is licensed from the original-format owner to an international production for the creation of a localized version targeting a different national market.
The format-licensing mechanism is distinct from direct international distribution of the original program. Under format licensing, the licensee produces a new local-language version using local talent, local locations, and local creative-team direction while retaining the underlying structural and creative-property architecture of the original format.
Israeli original television has produced particularly active format-licensing activity. Major Israeli formats licensed to international productions include:
— Be'Tipul (Israeli original) → In Treatment (HBO US, multiple seasons across HBO and HBO Max) — Hatufim / Prisoners of War (Israeli original) → Homeland (Showtime, multi-season Emmy-winning production) — The Greenhouse / Hahamama (Israeli original) → multiple international format productions — Multiple additional Israeli formats across UK, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and Latin American television markets
The format-licensing architecture operates substantially through Keshet International (the international distribution arm of Keshet Media Group), Yes Studios (the international distribution arm of Yes), and adjacent Israeli format-licensing operators. Format-licensing commerce represents a structural component of Israeli original television's international commercial position covered at /media-entertainment/yes-studios-fauda/.
The format-licensing commercial model typically combines an upfront format-license fee with ongoing royalties based on the licensee's commercial activity (advertising revenue, distribution fees, or adjacent commercial measures).
See also: /glossary/television-format-remake/, /media-entertainment/yes-studios-fauda/