How International Alliances Are Reshaping TV Drama Financing

deadline.com:

“‘Alliance’ is the mot du jour for all players on the global scripted scene,” says Alice Sommer, Head of Drama at Norwegian network TV2.

She should know — her channel is part of Scandi Alliance, one of several groupings of networks in Europe who’ve teamed to beat the global economics that appear to be stacking against those trying to fund high-end TV drama.

Indeed, heading into the London TV Screenings next week, the global industry faces a scripted cash crisis. U.S. networks have largely retrenched into domestic stories, Europe’s public broadcasters face myriad funding problems and distributors appear only to want low-risk bets.

Speaking to Deadline earlier this week, Catch You Later producer Mike Benson from Clapperboard Studios summed up the problem for producers: Traditionally, “Most of your MG [minimum guarantee] is underpinned by a good American sale, and if you don’t have that you’re looking to the rest of the world.