Why does The Great British Baking Show have a different U.S. name? Details explored

The British baking competition known in the United Kingdom as The Great British Bake Off carries a different title when released in the United States. Now in its season 16, it is distributed as The Great British Baking Show due to trademark restrictions.

Pillsbury, the U.S. food company, is the holder of the term "Bake-Off" as the name of its long-established Pillsbury Bake-Off contest, which started in 1949.

As a result of the copyright held in the UK, the TV show under its original name couldn't be aired in the US, hence the alternative title was given to prevent both crossing and the misunderstanding of the audience.

Trademark restrictions and the U.S. release of The Great British Baking Show

Pillsbury Bake-Off trademark rights

The Pillsbury Bake-Off was created in 1949 as the Grand National Recipe and Baking Contest. The first few years saw 100 finalists, 97 women and 3 men, competing for fame with their own recipes.

Eventually, the company renamed the contest as the Bake-Off, and it is nowadays a legally protected and copyrighted term in the United States.

The contest is still all about home cooks submitting recipes that feature Pillsbury products, especially flour and other baking basics.

Recipes are reviewed, judged and finalists are chosen to compete at live events.

At various times in its history the Bake-Off has been televised and winners receive big prizes, including $50,000 cash.

Because of its long history with the name “Bake-Off,” Pillsbury has exclusive rights to the term in the U.S.

Why the British show required a new title

When the show went international, the original title, The Great British Bake Off couldn’t be used in the US as Pillsbury had the trademark. To avoid legal issues, the producers and networks released it as The Great British Baking Show.

This only applied to the US, in the UK and other countries the show is still called The Great British Bake Off.

The change was to avoid confusion between Pillsbury’s competition and the TV show. Both have baking competitions but they are different structures and formats.

Pillsbury’s Bake-Off is individual recipe submissions and a live final, the British show is a multi week show with recurring contestants.

Key differences between the two competitions

While both the Pillsbury Bake-Off and The Great British Baking Show are about baking, they are very different in design and purpose.

The Pillsbury Bake-Off collects recipes from all over the United States, judges them, and narrows them down to finalists who compete in one big event. Winners get money, with the $50,000 prize being a big draw.

In contrast, The Great British Baking Show starts with 12 amateur bakers who are part of the series for 10 to 12 weeks of filming. Each week has 3 challenges: the Signature Bake, the Technical Bake, and the Showstopper.

Contestants are eliminated week by week until the finalists compete for the title of series winner.

Unlike the Pillsbury competition, there is no cash prize in the British show, but participation can bring public exposure and career opportunities for the contestants.

Distribution under different names

The show is still shown in the UK with its first title, The Great British Bake Off. Nevertheless, The Great British Baking Show is the name by which the US is used to refer to the program, including on Netflix.

The difference in the titles indicates the legal and branding demands that arise from Pillsbury being the owner of the “Bake-Off” trademark and thus both competitions having different and separate identities in the United States market.

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