The Format Recognition and Protection Association (FRAPA) has appointed Shunsuke Fukaya, Head of New Format Sales, Europe at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), to its Advisory Board as the formats business continues to adapt to the rise of digital platforms and creator-led entertainment.
Fukaya joined TBS in 2009 and spent 12 years working in television production, including seven years as an unscripted director. He moved to the company’s Global Business Division in 2021, focusing on international format sales and development. His credits include Lovers or Liars?, developed with All3Media International and awarded Gold for Best Original Reality at the 2025 ContentAsia Awards, as well as TONO.
FRAPA MIPCOM summit focuses on the digital formats economy
Fukaya will join FRAPA’s Advisory Board as the association holds its annual MIPCOM summit, where executives from Amazon MGM Studios, Signal.Stream, Tresor Productions and Banijay will examine how digital platforms are changing the way formats are created, developed and sold.
The panel will feature Jenn Levy, Head of Unscripted & Doc Series at Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios; Wouter van der Pauw, founder of Signal.Stream; Axel Kuehn, Managing Director of Tresor Productions; and Helen Greatorex, Banijay’s Head of Format Acquisitions and a member of FRAPA’s Advisory Board.
Amazon MGM Studios will discuss its strategy of building unscripted formats around existing IP, including Road to a Million, based on the James Bond universe, and an upcoming reality series inspired by Fallout. The company will also discuss its local production approach, including the success of Last One Laughing.
Signal.Stream will look at the development of YouTube-first formats such as Let’s Play Ball and their route towards international buyers. Tresor Productions will examine its German adaptation of Hot Ones and its partnership with Cowshed on digital-first entertainment.
Banijay, meanwhile, will explore the commercial potential of acquiring digital-first formats such as Stop The Train, including their potential for traditional television adaptations and YouTube remakes in different territories.
Fukaya said FRAPA’s role in protecting original ideas has become increasingly important as the formats industry operates across a more global and digital environment.
Nick Smith, co-chair of FRAPA said: ‘“Shunsuke brings valuable experience from both production and international format development, from a territory with a rich history in collaboration. The television formats model is being challenged by creators, SVODs, and YouTube after decades of a proven ecosystem.
We need to identify where the biggest opportunities lie for format owners in this new digital world and where the next generation of global hits will emerge. Our mission is to guide the way to a manifesto for the next generation of global hits, where creators, streaming giants, and traditional broadcasters are all rewriting the rules.’
