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Front Page, Industry News
It’s a Canadian Summer for U.S. Television
Tuesday July 20th 2010American fans of scripted network television this summer can thank Canada.
Three of the dramas on CBS and ABC this month come from Toronto, the result of deals with Canadian networks to share the shows — and the costs. Last week the CW network joined the trend, buying repeats of a Canadian sitcom called “18 to Life.”
Network executives say that without the deals, their summer schedules would be carrying fewer new scripted hours and, in their place, more repeats and reality shows.
“This is not a business model to build a network schedule around, but it enhances your ability to program more originals year round,” said Chris Ender, a spokesman for CBS.
The deals with counterparts to the north started during the writers’ strike in 2007-8, when networks in the United States were desperate for fresh material. At that time CBS picked up “Flashpoint,” a police drama from the Canadian network CTV that is now in its third season and is shown in both countries.
Until “Flashpoint,” no Canadian series had also been shown in the United States since “Due South” in 1994 — and it only lasted one season in the states.
Last year two Canadian imports, “The Listener” on NBC and ‘Defying Gravity” on ABC, both flopped. But the networks have tried again this summer, with “The Bridge” on CBS and “Rookie Blue” on ABC.
Displaying confidence in the cross-border approach, ABC and its partner, Canwest Broadcasting, renewed “Rookie Blue” for a second season last week, although it has averaged only 4.2 million viewers in the United States. At that rating, the return on investment was sufficient.
“Rookie Blue” is a classic co-production between ABC and Canwest, the result of a deal that was struck last year. “At the right deal point, it was worth us taking a shot at finally putting money where our mouth was and doing original summer dramas,” said Quinn Taylor, the senior vice president for movies, mini-series and acquisitions at ABC. “It was a risk worth taking, and it’s paid off so far.”
New York magazine reported last week that ABC pays as little as $350,000 an episode for “Rookie Blue.” Mr. Taylor declined to comment on the deal terms. But three people at the networks said $350,000 is the average license fee for each of the imports on ABC and CBS, and one of the people said the fees for an episode were sometimes even lower. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose financial terms.
Networks typically pay a license fee well above $1 million an episode, so the savings on the Canadian shows are substantial — and fewer viewers need to tune in to turn a profit. Canadian tax credits help keep the production costs especially low for all the parties involved.
Network executives say the deals for each show are a little different, but the benefits are the same. The United States networks save money, the Canadian networks get to “put more money on the screen,” and the producers get a bigger audience for their work, said Susanne Boyce, the president for creative, content and channels for CTV, which commissioned “Flashpoint” and “The Bridge.”
“For years we’ve been bringing in fantastic programs from the U.S.,” she said. “It’s nice to do the reverse.”
For the Canadian producers, a United States showing also raises the value of a show in other international markets, where they often recoup their costs.
The networks dislike the notion that they are skimping on quality. “Advertisers still want the ABC brand, the ABC quality, so we have to be very diligent about that,” Mr. Taylor said.
It is a coincidence that the three Canadian dramas are all police series. At least the CW network’s acquisition, “18 to Life,” breaks the mold: it is a romantic comedy that is taped in Montreal and shown on CBC. It will start in the United States in August.
Dawn Ostroff, the president of entertainment for CW, said the deal was a way to “have more content on the network in the summer that’s original to our audience.” It has no other scripted series planned until September.
Having fresh scripted shows, whatever country they are from, on the networks in the summer — a season when viewers gravitate to cable for top dramas — gives marketers a platform to promote fall shows, the ones that cost far more than $350,000 an episode.
Ms. Boyce said she expected that Canadian shows, having found a foothold here in the summer, would eventually start to appear on the more-prominent fall schedules as well.
Other than an occasional mention of a “constable” or a sighting of the Toronto skyline, the national origin of these shows is undetectable to most American viewers. North of the border, viewers are more vigilant. One Canadian reviewer of “The Bridge” lingered on the fact that the bar where the police officers retreat after work “screams Boston or New York,” not Canada.
Front Page, Industry News
It’s a Canadian Summer for U.S. Television
Tuesday July 20th 2010American fans of scripted network television this summer can thank Canada.
Three of the dramas on CBS and ABC this month come from Toronto, the result of deals with Canadian networks to share the shows — and the costs. Last week the CW network joined the trend, buying repeats of a Canadian sitcom called “18 to Life.”
Network executives say that without the deals, their summer schedules would be carrying fewer new scripted hours and, in their place, more repeats and reality shows.
“This is not a business model to build a network schedule around, but it enhances your ability to program more originals year round,” said Chris Ender, a spokesman for CBS.
The deals with counterparts to the north started during the writers’ strike in 2007-8, when networks in the United States were desperate for fresh material. At that time CBS picked up “Flashpoint,” a police drama from the Canadian network CTV that is now in its third season and is shown in both countries.
Until “Flashpoint,” no Canadian series had also been shown in the United States since “Due South” in 1994 — and it only lasted one season in the states.
Last year two Canadian imports, “The Listener” on NBC and ‘Defying Gravity” on ABC, both flopped. But the networks have tried again this summer, with “The Bridge” on CBS and “Rookie Blue” on ABC.
Displaying confidence in the cross-border approach, ABC and its partner, Canwest Broadcasting, renewed “Rookie Blue” for a second season last week, although it has averaged only 4.2 million viewers in the United States. At that rating, the return on investment was sufficient.
“Rookie Blue” is a classic co-production between ABC and Canwest, the result of a deal that was struck last year. “At the right deal point, it was worth us taking a shot at finally putting money where our mouth was and doing original summer dramas,” said Quinn Taylor, the senior vice president for movies, mini-series and acquisitions at ABC. “It was a risk worth taking, and it’s paid off so far.”
New York magazine reported last week that ABC pays as little as $350,000 an episode for “Rookie Blue.” Mr. Taylor declined to comment on the deal terms. But three people at the networks said $350,000 is the average license fee for each of the imports on ABC and CBS, and one of the people said the fees for an episode were sometimes even lower. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose financial terms.
Networks typically pay a license fee well above $1 million an episode, so the savings on the Canadian shows are substantial — and fewer viewers need to tune in to turn a profit. Canadian tax credits help keep the production costs especially low for all the parties involved.
Network executives say the deals for each show are a little different, but the benefits are the same. The United States networks save money, the Canadian networks get to “put more money on the screen,” and the producers get a bigger audience for their work, said Susanne Boyce, the president for creative, content and channels for CTV, which commissioned “Flashpoint” and “The Bridge.”
“For years we’ve been bringing in fantastic programs from the U.S.,” she said. “It’s nice to do the reverse.”
For the Canadian producers, a United States showing also raises the value of a show in other international markets, where they often recoup their costs.
The networks dislike the notion that they are skimping on quality. “Advertisers still want the ABC brand, the ABC quality, so we have to be very diligent about that,” Mr. Taylor said.
It is a coincidence that the three Canadian dramas are all police series. At least the CW network’s acquisition, “18 to Life,” breaks the mold: it is a romantic comedy that is taped in Montreal and shown on CBC. It will start in the United States in August.
Dawn Ostroff, the president of entertainment for CW, said the deal was a way to “have more content on the network in the summer that’s original to our audience.” It has no other scripted series planned until September.
Having fresh scripted shows, whatever country they are from, on the networks in the summer — a season when viewers gravitate to cable for top dramas — gives marketers a platform to promote fall shows, the ones that cost far more than $350,000 an episode.
Ms. Boyce said she expected that Canadian shows, having found a foothold here in the summer, would eventually start to appear on the more-prominent fall schedules as well.
Other than an occasional mention of a “constable” or a sighting of the Toronto skyline, the national origin of these shows is undetectable to most American viewers. North of the border, viewers are more vigilant. One Canadian reviewer of “The Bridge” lingered on the fact that the bar where the police officers retreat after work “screams Boston or New York,” not Canada.
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Front Page, Industry News
It’s a Canadian Summer for U.S. Television
Tuesday July 20th 2010American fans of scripted network television this summer can thank Canada.
Three of the dramas on CBS and ABC this month come from Toronto, the result of deals with Canadian networks to share the shows — and the costs. Last week the CW network joined the trend, buying repeats of a Canadian sitcom called “18 to Life.”
Network executives say that without the deals, their summer schedules would be carrying fewer new scripted hours and, in their place, more repeats and reality shows.
“This is not a business model to build a network schedule around, but it enhances your ability to program more originals year round,” said Chris Ender, a spokesman for CBS.
The deals with counterparts to the north started during the writers’ strike in 2007-8, when networks in the United States were desperate for fresh material. At that time CBS picked up “Flashpoint,” a police drama from the Canadian network CTV that is now in its third season and is shown in both countries.
Until “Flashpoint,” no Canadian series had also been shown in the United States since “Due South” in 1994 — and it only lasted one season in the states.
Last year two Canadian imports, “The Listener” on NBC and ‘Defying Gravity” on ABC, both flopped. But the networks have tried again this summer, with “The Bridge” on CBS and “Rookie Blue” on ABC.
Displaying confidence in the cross-border approach, ABC and its partner, Canwest Broadcasting, renewed “Rookie Blue” for a second season last week, although it has averaged only 4.2 million viewers in the United States. At that rating, the return on investment was sufficient.
“Rookie Blue” is a classic co-production between ABC and Canwest, the result of a deal that was struck last year. “At the right deal point, it was worth us taking a shot at finally putting money where our mouth was and doing original summer dramas,” said Quinn Taylor, the senior vice president for movies, mini-series and acquisitions at ABC. “It was a risk worth taking, and it’s paid off so far.”
New York magazine reported last week that ABC pays as little as $350,000 an episode for “Rookie Blue.” Mr. Taylor declined to comment on the deal terms. But three people at the networks said $350,000 is the average license fee for each of the imports on ABC and CBS, and one of the people said the fees for an episode were sometimes even lower. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to disclose financial terms.
Networks typically pay a license fee well above $1 million an episode, so the savings on the Canadian shows are substantial — and fewer viewers need to tune in to turn a profit. Canadian tax credits help keep the production costs especially low for all the parties involved.
Network executives say the deals for each show are a little different, but the benefits are the same. The United States networks save money, the Canadian networks get to “put more money on the screen,” and the producers get a bigger audience for their work, said Susanne Boyce, the president for creative, content and channels for CTV, which commissioned “Flashpoint” and “The Bridge.”
“For years we’ve been bringing in fantastic programs from the U.S.,” she said. “It’s nice to do the reverse.”
For the Canadian producers, a United States showing also raises the value of a show in other international markets, where they often recoup their costs.
The networks dislike the notion that they are skimping on quality. “Advertisers still want the ABC brand, the ABC quality, so we have to be very diligent about that,” Mr. Taylor said.
It is a coincidence that the three Canadian dramas are all police series. At least the CW network’s acquisition, “18 to Life,” breaks the mold: it is a romantic comedy that is taped in Montreal and shown on CBC. It will start in the United States in August.
Dawn Ostroff, the president of entertainment for CW, said the deal was a way to “have more content on the network in the summer that’s original to our audience.” It has no other scripted series planned until September.
Having fresh scripted shows, whatever country they are from, on the networks in the summer — a season when viewers gravitate to cable for top dramas — gives marketers a platform to promote fall shows, the ones that cost far more than $350,000 an episode.
Ms. Boyce said she expected that Canadian shows, having found a foothold here in the summer, would eventually start to appear on the more-prominent fall schedules as well.
Other than an occasional mention of a “constable” or a sighting of the Toronto skyline, the national origin of these shows is undetectable to most American viewers. North of the border, viewers are more vigilant. One Canadian reviewer of “The Bridge” lingered on the fact that the bar where the police officers retreat after work “screams Boston or New York,” not Canada.
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