MIPTV 2013: The 50 Shows That Changed TV

COLOGNE, Germany– In honor of its 50th anniversary next month, international television market MIPTV will pay tribute to the 50 shows that have most shaped this history of television over the last five decades.

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Swiss television data group World Information Tracking (WIT) has picked the 50 top shows based on their international success and the impact they have had on the development of TV worldwide.

“We chose to select 50 emblematic shows, one for each year, starting from 1963 until today,” said Virginia Mouseler, CEO of The WIT.

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WIT unveiled the first shows on its hit list from the 1960s and 70s. They include long-running game show formats such as Jeopardy! and Wheel of Fortune; cult drama series including Star Trek, Columbo and Dallas and ground-breaking children’s series Sesame Street.

WIT’s list also includes international breakthrough hits, from Japanese anime Astro Boy and Canadian youth drama The Kids of Degrassi Street to Brit soap Coronation Street to German real-life crime solving format Aktenzeichen XY Ungelost, the inspiration for similar shows such as BBC’s Crimewatch and Fox’s America’s Most Wanted.  

“Our aim was to reflect the internationalization of the television industry over time: featuring shows from the USA of course, but also from Latin America, Asia, Europe… The ultimate selection criteria being emotions and memories created by these TV moments.”

WIT and MIPTV have set up a Facebook site highlighting their top 50 picks. WIT will unveil their picks for the subsequent decades in the lead up to MIP TV, which runs April 8-11.