Beginning in 1999 with Big Brother, the international television industry has seen a succession of mega programme formats over the past fifteen years. Yet, while critical researchers scramble to make sense of this phenomenon, the fact is that the practice of media franchising is not new, even if its place in the spotlight is relatively recent. To support my overall claim about the longevity of programme replication, I will consider the trajectory of content remaking since the 1930s in terms of four periods. The article identifies the programme remaking that occurred in each stage. It also pinpoints a cluster of factors that helped precipitate each new phase, thereby contributing to the emerging field of global television format studies.