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FRAPA has appointed Shunsuke Fukaya, Head of New Format Sales, Europe at Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), to its Advisory Board as the association prepares to explore the changing opportunities for formats in the digital age at its annual MIPCOM summit. Fukaya joined TBS in 2009 and spent 12 years in television production, including seven years as an unscripted television director. He moved to the company’s Global Business Division in 2021, where he focuses on international format sales and development. In 2024 and 2025, he served as Business Producer for Lovers or Liars?, a co-development with All3Media International that won the Gold Award for Best Original Reality at the ContentAsia Awards 2025. He also became Business Producer of TONO in 2025 before being appointed Head of New Format Sales, Europe in 2026. "In this global era, protecting unique ideas matters more than ever. That is why FRAPA’s role is so important," said Fukaya.

The FRAPA MIPCOM summit will bring together format executives from across the industry to discuss how digital transformation is creating new opportunities and challenges for format owners. The panel will feature Jenn Levy, head of unscripted & doc series at Prime Video & Amazon MGM Studios; Wouter van der Pauw, founder of Signal.Stream; Axel Kuehn, MD of Tresor Productions; and Helen Greatorex, FRAPA Advisory Board member and Banijay’s head of format acquisitions.

Amazon MGM Studios will discuss its approach to creating reality formats from existing IP, including Road to a Million, based on the James Bond IP, as well as the upcoming reality series based on the Fallout video game. The company will also discuss its local format production strategy through the success of Last One Laughing.
Signal.Stream will look at the development of formats for YouTube, including Let’s Play Ball, and the process of bringing digital-first formats to international buyers. Tresor Productions will examine its German adaptation of the YouTube format Hot Ones and its partnership with Cowshed to bring digital-first entertainment formats to Germany. Banijay will discuss the role of digital-first formats such as Stop The Train within its strategy, including sales to traditional format buyers and remakes for YouTube in different markets.

According to FRAPA co-chair Nick Smith, "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."