Beyond the Broadcast: A Strategic Blueprint for Transforming Television IP into Location-Based Entertainment
- Robbie Jones
- 5 days ago
- 4 min read
The UK television landscape is navigating a structural shift. As linear advertising models compress and commissioning budgets tighten, production groups and brand owners are aggressively seeking alternative models to monetise their intellectual property (IP) portfolios.
Location based entertainment (LBE) has emerged as a high-margin, high-impact hedge against declining broadcast revenues. With the UK immersive entertainment market projected to lead European growth and scale to a staggering $68.55 billion by 2033, the strategic question for entertainment executives is no longer if they should physicalise their digital assets, but how.
The primary commercial hurdle is execution risk. C-suite leaders are fiercely protective of their brand equity and cautious of capital expenditure. They require an operational benchmark that proves an intense, screen-based IP can be translated into a safe, accessible, and highly profitable physical asset.
The seasonal launch of The Gladiators Experience at the NEC Birmingham serves as the modern gold standard for this transition. Appointed as the "experience heads," Katapult engineered the spatial flow and visitor strategy surrounding the iconic arena challenges.
For media executives looking to unlock new revenue streams, the transition relies on four strategic design pillars:
1. Optimising Spatial Layout to Drive Capital Efficiency
Even before a pencil is put to paper on the experience, we focus on insights and strategy. The idea must make sense commercially and show audience and market viability. How would this fit alongside your studio slate and IP strategy?
Then, the work to create an experience really begins.
Transitioning a consumer from a passive viewer into an active contender within a cavernous, 10,000-square-metre environment required meticulous guest journey mapping for the Gladiators Experience. Poorly planned spaces create operational friction, kill the atmosphere, and ultimately suppress secondary spend - not to mention hindering the IP's affinity and reputation.
To eliminate crowd bottlenecks and maximise commercial floor area, Katapult designed massive, high-impact wayfinding thresholds - such as giant themed portals for the "Kit Room" and "The Vault". Systematically structuring every phase of the operational flow - from registration and locker infrastructure to active zones and the final retail superstore - ensures seamless throughput and optimised dwell time.
It is the combination of these spaces together with the iconic TV format 'challenges' that helps build an experience.
2. Solving the Player-Elimination Bottleneck via Inclusive Spectator Design
A common failure in competitive LBE design is the alienation of non-athletic demographics, which artificially restricts the target market. If an experience only caters to active contenders, it isolates families, corporate groups, and nostalgic fans.
To protect group ticket value, Katapult implemented a dual-engagement strategy that splits participant and spectator pathways, ensuring non-participants remain entirely immersed. As Katapult Guest Experience Designer Amelia Maresca explains:
"The spectator plays a crucial role. It’s about the atmosphere, the anticipation, that kind of sense of energy that you get from the show. We tried to recreate that feeling of walking into the arena where something big is about to happen."
We achieved this by designing "The Vault," a dedicated interactive space housing a mini-museum called "The Archive". Featuring physical assets spanning from the original 1990s ITV series to the latest BBC reboot costumes, it bridges the multi-generational gap—allowing adults to engage with pure nostalgia while children interact with the modern branding.
Paired with low-touch, highly shareable photo opportunities - such as posing with a replica pugil stick - every guest can safely engage with the brand identity, driving massive secondary retail spend.
3. Fusing Broadcast-Quality Aesthetics with Playful, Hands-On Nostalgia
Television executives fear that a physical attraction will look cheap or dilute the hard-won reputation of their prime broadcast properties. The remedy is fusing broadcast-level visual standards with interactive display designs that invite fans to touch, see, and interact with the IP on a deeper level.
Katapult Art Director Hayley Garnham shared the precision and passion required to bring these physical details to life for the fans:
"There’s a really big collection of stuff all the way from the very beginning like the ’90s up until now... We’ve done quite a lot of thinking about how we could display this collection and put across the information in a really fun and engaging way."
4. Future-Proofing Brands through Modularity and Neuroinclusion
For seasonal tours or temporary activations, industrial design must prioritise touring economics. Sets must be engineered with lightweight, highly durable, and cost-conscious components that maintain a polished look under intense public wear, yet allow for rapid disassembly and regional transport—minimising future capital risk.
Crucially, modern brand licensing requires a rigorous approach to diversity. Through our groundbreaking four-year academic research project, "Neuroinclusion within Themed Attractions" - in partnership with the University of Birmingham and Drayton Manor Resort - Katapult is generating data-driven blueprints to ensure high-stimulation environments are sensory-friendly and welcoming to neurodivergent guests.
This scientific approach allows media companies to confidently create an experience that is truly inclusive for all.
Partner for Commercial Success
Successfully moving from screen to physical space requires moving away from simple licensing models toward strategic, design-led joint ventures. For a deeper dive into how we can support you on translating your TV format into the next greatest experience, connect with us today to start a conversation.
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