New Zealand Idol

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New Zealand Idol, so obviously an international franchise, the local version of it.

Kind of outrageous.

Some people felt that there would be public money spent on a series of that.

And the series continued to show high-profile New Zealanders to us in ways they hadn't been seen before.

Our first two seasons of New Zealand Idol saw Māori and Pasifika R&B singers take the top honour with Ben Lammas and Rosita Vai.

The second season of Treasure Island where Tanya Poufrit became the first woman in the world to win any survival reality TV show.

I think that most successful reality shows probably include people and ideas that challenge assumptions, as well as those that reinforce expectations.

But on the other side, I think you've also got a- Game show or variety show.

So you think of a show like Treasure Island as kind of like a game show on an island, or a show like New Zealand Idol is effectively a talent show like the ones we used to have on TV in the '60s.

But would you, would you say that something like Grand Designs is reality television? 'Cause how different is that from The Block?

That's, this is the know it when you see it situation, right? I look at a show like Grand Designs and I think it is a reality show.

This fight became an early example of the difficulty in monetizing reality formats.

You can't really copyright an idea, but it was at least agreed that the name Pop Idol was a bit too close to Popstars, so the US version became American Idol.

[upbeat music] And of course, the Idol format, partly inspired by an accidental reality show from New Zealand, ended up finding its way back to Aotearoa in 2004 as New Zealand Idol.

The first New Zealand Idol is Ben.

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New Zealand Idol, so obviously an international franchise, the local version of it.

Kind of outrageous.

Some people felt that there would be public money spent on a series of that.