The limitations of localization: A cross-cultural comparative study of Farmer Wants a Wife

Despite globalization, television is still bound to the nation-state in several aspects. The international television industry meets the national in the cross-border exchange of television content. Canned programming can hereby run into cultural barriers, which TV formats presumably can overcome, due to localization. Formats are translated to local versions that presumably suit national culture and identity. In globalization debates, localization is being used as an argument against cultural homogenization. However, there is little comparative work reviewing the extent to which TV formats are culturally specific. By comparing linguistic, intertextual and cultural codes in the Dutch and the Australian version of the British reality TV format Farmer wants a Wife, we will argue that localization of TV formats might be overrated as protection of cultural diversity.