License to produce and to broadcast a national version of a copyrighted foreign TV program and to use its name. An extremely vivid tendency in popular television of the past years. The resulting programs are sometimes called formats.

The popularity is due notably to:

• the huge cost savings associated with avoiding the risk of inventing something original
• the illusion for national audiences of watching a successful local production

One example would be Coupling, the BBC TV series adapted (unsuccessfully) by NBC in 2003.

Another would be the BigBrother reality program that has proven successful worldwide.

See also: List of British television series remade for the US market