FRAPA adds Fremantle, Banijay & All3Media format execs to board

L-R: Tony Stern, Carlotta Rossi Spencer & Nick Smith

FRAPA, the global Format Recognition and Protection Association, has appointed three new senior format execs to its general board – Fremantle’s Tony Stern, Banijay’s Carlotta Rossi Spencer and All3Media International’s Nick Smith.

The execs will help to strengthen the organisation’s role in protecting format rights and settling disputes over IP infringement.

Stern is EVP of commercial and business affairs for Fremantle, where he manages the commercial and legal aspects of the production and distribution giant’s format acquisitions.

Since joining the company in 2000, he has helped to acquire and exploit marquee format franchises, including Idols, Got Talent, The X Factor and The Masked Singer.

The exec recently told TBI that copying formats is “a very short-term gain,” and that when it comes to settling an infringement, “Ideally you want them to stop production or make changes to differentiate their show from yours.”

Spencer, meanwhile, is head of format acquisitions for global unscripted producer and distributor Banijay, with the responsibility for identifying and acquiring unscripted formats with cross-country appeal; driving them out across the group’s in-house labels.

Smith is EVP of formats at All3Media International and was part of the team that devised Strictly Come Dancing (aka Dancing With The Stars) both in production and distribution. He currently oversees All3Media International’s format portfolio, which includes 30-plus local versions each of Gogglebox, Kitchen Nightmares, Cash Cab and Undercover Boss.

FRAPA co-chair Jan Salling, head of BBC Studios Nordics Productions, commented: “An association like FRAPA lives and dies on the quality of its board members — and executive quality doesn’t come much better than Tony, Carlotta and Nick.

“All three bring years of frontline experience of the global format industry to our mission, which remains as important today as it was when FRAPA was founded back in 2000: to ensure that the grassroots creativity that drives our industry is protected and respected by all.”