Through an in-depth look into British entertainment Television formats in contemporary China, this article rethinks the role of culture in the adaption of global formats. After ten years of being the most successful format shows, the popularity of British TV formats experienced a sharp fall since last year. In contrast, South Korean formats are now in vogue. The paper presents the decline of British formats from three aspects: rating, audiences’ feedback and broadcasters’ preference. Its follows the examination of case studies from a cross- cultural perspective of three imported formats: The Voice, Daddy Where are We Going (Korean reality), and X Factor. This study argues that the continuing falling trend of British formats is a result of decades of conflict between the Western culture, represented in the Western formats, and the oriental culture. The culture difference that used to attract Chinese audiences now rejects them. The improvement of China’s economy has increased the cultural confidence of Chinese audiences who now expect format shows to reflect their own culture. However, the Chinese TV producers are unable to do that yet. That is why they have to borrow formats from South Korea who has been empowered to take Western formats production skills and use them in an oriental way. What lies behind the changing audience taste is the shifting of global cultural power.