PBS' TV market presence is there, once deciphered. (U.S. Public TV).

International buyers practically qualify for a gold star if they fully grasp the labyrinthine complexities of PBS' presence at the various international television markets. PBS is the U.S. public TV network made up of 349 non-profit local stations funded by viewer contributions, government money, private grants and, recently, increasing corporate sponsorship.

In the recent past, if a TV executive went to a "PBS/U.S. Public Television" pavillion, the executive would be hard-pressed to find any company there named "U.S. Public Television." Instead, that person would find a PBS-branded booth, in which "member" stations like WLIW (Long Island) New York, Thirteen/WNET and Oregon Public Broadcasting resided.

In addition, a discerning buyer might be confused by the presence inside the PBS pavilion of American Public Television (APT), the second largest distributor of public television-type programming (after PBS itself). A non-profit company, APT Worldwide represents producers and suppliers of PBS programs in the international marketplace.

"We get a lot of people coming to our booth looking for PBS," admitted Judy Barlow, director of international sales for APT Worldwide.

At this year's MIPCOM, things got especially confusing, as PBS did not have a booth.

Said Gustavo Sagastume, vice president of programming at the Alexandria, Virginia-based PBS headquarters: "MIPCOM conflicted with DEVCON, an important annual meeting for our member stations -- held in Dallas -- where we discuss issues related to revenue, such as membership and corporate underwriting. At MIPCOM, PBS was represented by our London-based acquisitions associate, Stephanie Neville."

William Grant, director of science, natural history and features programming for the public television station Thirteen/WNET, however, believes that "serious financial problems" forced PBS to pass on MIPCOM. "With the recent layoffs the network experienced, the need to find financial savings was essential. This was an easy way to save money."

Due to its reduced funds, PBS has not bought the international rights to any of the programs it airs. "International distribution requires a great deal of energy and capital in order to be successful," noted Grant.

But member stations, like Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB), do acquire international rights. "In recent years, OPB has also distributed its own productions internationally, creating a solid reputation with a broad array of international buyers," said Paula Mason, OPB's director of sales and acquisitions.

"Distribution offers an additional source of revenue to public broadcasting stations that have marketable product," Mason explained. "As the traditional sources -- revenue from memberships and governmental sources -- have declined over the past five years, while station costs continue to increase, stations need to develop new sources to stabilize their funding bases," she said.

OPB broke new ground by establishing an international market for "Oregon Field Guide: Adventures From the Wild West," which is believed to have had the widest international distribution of any local program produced by a PBS member station. The series has been sold in Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, all Arab territories and a number of other markets in Europe, Asia, Canada and the U.S.

While stations like WGBH also distribute their product themselves, some of the public broadcasters act as reps for other local stations, which is the case for OPB, said Mason.

"It is more cost effective to have someone else represent them, particularly if they only have a small amount of suitable content or if they have very limited resources," explained Mason. "It can be a win-win situation for both producer and distributor. We are already attending the markets and if I can have new, quality products to offer my clients, that is always good for business. And if these products sell well, the producer generates revenue on something that perhaps they might not have had the opportunity to take to the markets and try to sell themselves," she said.

At MIPCOM, OPB shared part of PBS'S old stand with member station WLIW, while WGBH Boston was the only PBS station to have its own booth, and has been successful distributing its programming overseas, according to WGBH's Tom Koch, director, International. "We have such a large programming catalogue, it really is in our best interest to retain the international distribution rights. We can sell a program the moment it is green-lit, which gives us a 12 to 18 month sales period," he said. "Whatever the needs of our buyers are, we immediately take those back to our production unit, which really makes economic sense," Koch added.

Alternatively, allowing a non-PBS distributor in on a PBS deal can open up co-financing possibilities for the producer, said Germaine Deagan Sweet, vice president of sales and co-productions, Tremendous! Entertainment. "Knowing where the slots are and understanding the best way to stretch the dollar is key for all parties." Tremendous! distributed several of WNET's documentary productions at MIPCOM.

Facing financial woes, public television stations have had to be innovative in their distribution strategies. In addition to selling programs overseas, WLIW packages raw hi-definition aerial footage shot when producing their Visions series, said Thomas Salmon, WLIW national marketing manager. "We focus in on certain 'veins' of programs that seem to be unusually successful. Once we find one, we continue to mine it with more and more new programs drawn from the same ore, only we change the focus slightly."