Rethinking the Format as a Theoretical Object in the Age of Media Convergence

This paper aims to analyse the notion of the television format as it emerges in the contemporary literature on television. It also gives several definitions of format, considering it as a legal and economic production technology, as a medium of exchange for the television industry and as a tool for designing narrative experiences in mediated programmes. Focussing on media convergence, this article discusses the role played by the format in the development of new forms of entertainment in the world of cross-media communication.