The Flemish
format ecosystem

When the international format industry refers to Belgium, it is in practice talking about Flanders, the Dutch-speaking part of the country. With a population of around seven million, it is a very small market. That is precisely why it is remarkable that Flanders accounts for around 4% of international format exports. This position has been achieved relatively recently and reflects a structural shift in the ecosystem.

Cultural conditions

Culturally, Flanders possesses several characteristics that support the development of original formats. Tolerance for non-conformist social behaviour is relatively high, and proficiency in English facilitates international collaboration. Furthermore, formats are recognised as vehicles for public value. The public broadcaster VRT plays an active role in this by investing in original format development. While uncertainty avoidance within Flemish culture is a real factor, it is partly offset in the media sector by a sector-specific norm in which experimentation and conceptual risk are recognised as positive values.

Institutional compensation mechanisms

The limited size of the market significantly reduces the absolute financial risks of the experiment. At the same time, the market is competitive, with several broadcasters and streaming services. Vertical integration is relatively low: major broadcasting groups do not have dominant in-house production facilities, which gives independent producers scope to operate and build up rights.

Terms of trade: the rationale behind a strong score

In the factor matrix, the terms of trade in Flanders are classified as ‘strong’, ranking higher than the Netherlands, which scores ‘medium-high’. This score requires further justification. In Flanders, the practice of revenue sharing between producers and clients was institutionalised relatively early and widely, partly as a result of sector-wide consultations between producers and broadcasters. As a public broadcaster, the VRT operates a policy whereby intellectual property is shared with the producer, which acts as a standard in the wider market. Furthermore, the Flemish production market is small enough that reputation and long-term relationships carry more weight than short-term rights maximisation by broadcasters, which in practice works out more favourably for producers than in larger, more anonymous markets. The strong score is therefore not based on a legal framework such as the UK Communications Act, but on a combination of industry practice, public broadcasting policy and market dynamics.

The Dutch language as a regional testing ground

One underestimated structural factor is the role of the Dutch language in defining a natural regional market. Dutch is spoken by around 23 million people in the Netherlands, Flanders and the Dutch-speaking diaspora. This shared linguistic area serves as a testing ground for formats before they are released internationally. A format that is successful in both Flanders and the Netherlands has proven to be scalable across two distinct markets, each with its own broadcasters, production cultures and audience tastes. This significantly enhances credibility among international buyers. Unlike the English language, which provides direct access to the global market, Dutch acts as a regional incubator: it limits the immediate reach but reduces the risk of international pitches because the format has already been validated in two markets.

Flanders and the Netherlands: a shared but asymmetrical ecosystem

The comparison with the Netherlands is inevitable but requires some nuance. Both markets share a common language, sector practices and, to some extent, institutional structures, but their export trajectories differ significantly. The Netherlands has a longer and deeper export tradition, stronger international networks and the structural legacy of Endemol, which Flanders lacks. Flanders is a later and smaller player that is building its international position largely through affiliation with the Dutch network, not as an equal partner, but as a satellite that benefits from the reputation, distribution networks and market knowledge that the Netherlands has built up. This is a fundamentally different growth path from organic export development based on its own international networks. The question for Flanders’ long-term position is whether it will develop an independent export infrastructure or remain structurally dependent on the Dutch axis.

DPG Media and the mechanisms of scaling up

The growing integration between the Flemish and Dutch media markets is most evident in DPG Media’s acquisition of RTL Nederland. The mechanism behind this is threefold. Firstly, the combination of Flemish and Dutch broadcasting capacity creates a larger domestic market for formats, allowing production funding to be spread across more broadcasting rights. Secondly, shared ownership of distribution channels increases the opportunities for joint international pitches: a format can be offered as having already been proven in two markets under a single owner. Thirdly, the integration facilitates knowledge exchange between Flemish and Dutch creative teams, which can benefit the quality and scalability of format development. At the same time, the concentration of broadcaster power introduces risks to the dynamics of the independent producers’ market, which has helped to enable the Flemish export position.

From craftsmanship to scalable creativity

Historically, the Flemish market has been characterised by a strong emphasis on craftsmanship and the creator’s signature. Audiovisual productions often had a distinct creative identity, which was not always conducive to scalable, reproducible formats. In recent years, a clear shift has become apparent. The emergence of specialised distribution companies such as B-Entertainment underscores this strategic shift towards scalable creativity. With formats such as 99 to Beat and Destination X, Flanders is now positioning itself as a consistent runner-up within the international format market.

Conclusion

Flanders demonstrates how a very small market can achieve a disproportionately strong export position through a combination of favourable institutional conditions, regional cooperation and strategic reorientation. Its structural vulnerability lies in its dependence on the Dutch network and the question of whether its export infrastructure is sufficiently independent to function outside that axis.

Format Innovation model

All factors are expressed as innovation contribution scores — the larger the radar shape, the stronger the ecosystem. Market size and Vert. integration are inverted (marked inv.) and relabelled to reflect their innovation contribution directly. Overall scores (1–10) are qualitative assessments based on the full country analysis.