Rewards measured by level of difficulty.

With production costs spiraling ever higher, and countries becoming more protective of their own television and film industries, co-productions are becoming increasingly important means for American producers to improve their global presence, and for international players to break into the U.S. market.

Originally, co-productions were intended to help smaller companies pool their resources and better compete internationally. Now, all production companies are actively seeking out partnerships, but not without problems.

A&E vp Delia Fine stressed the importance of picking a compatible co-production partner: "if you don't have a shared vision, it can all end in tears." That meeting of the minds is why A&E and the BBC have successfully teamed up on a number of productions in recent years, agreed Jane Tranter, BBC's head of drama. "There is the shared desire of BBC and A&E to make classics--books that most people wouldn't think of taking off the shelves and reading--accessible to audiences."

Michele Block, head of drama at London Weekend Television, said it's also important that partners feel they are equal participants. "Co-productions have to benefit both sides, have to serve both masters and neither should feel grafted on, it's not like we take American money and run away. During production we talk every week about casting, about rushes."

Minds Eye Pictures CEO Kevin De Walt said, "Let's face it, we're in one of the most difficult periods in the history of financing product worldwide. If anybody is relying solely on high-percent financing from their own country, my sense is they're setting themselves up for failure. You must think internationally with co-productions. In Canada, we have the historical experience and the business affairs and accounting departments that understand the process. Because of the content rules, it's win-win."

Patricia Burns, Nelvana's vp of international production, is bullish on global co-productions. "It does help us to make a more global property, because we're getting comments from the European broadcasters and making sure that our shows work on both sides of the world." SBS Broadcasting chairman Harry Evans Sloan added, "Because we're sharing the cost of a production among two or three countries, we're able to produce a show that we otherwise couldn't afford, so we get better programs that way. The other advantage is that if we are splitting the show two or three ways, it hits the bottom line immediately."

Some European countries, such as Spain, are seeking to increase their number of co-production deals outside of Europe. Under Spanish law, 60 percent of the fiction on television must be in Spanish, so in recent years there has been an increase in deals with Latin American companies. Antonio Chavarrias, head of Oberon production house, pointed out the advantages. "First of all, it strengthens the production financially, causing higher budgets and more ambitious projects. Secondly, it brings territories closer and assures a wider release of the product." Spanish TV Executive Ele Juarez noted, "There is a lot of movement in the film industry looking to co-produce with Latin America. That eases into one of the pending issues for the Spanish film industry: access to the wealthy U.S. Hispanic market. There are 38 million people in that market, whose growth is about 16 percent per year; and it's very difficult to get there. There's a lot of room for growth."

However, working in different markets can sometimes be a sobering experience. International producers who get into co-production deals with U.S. networks have to learn to accept the reality that U.S. television is usually more interested in the corporate bottom-line than creative ends. Producer Caryn Mandabach noted that network ownership of series has, in her opinion, lessened creative choice. "I don't want to use the word interference, perhaps input. But the growing corporatization of the entertainment industry is a fact of life. So few executives come from producing backgrounds and it would be just so helpful to have someone who had even one experience of producing something.

"Networks are owned by gigantic companies and the numbers speak for themselves. These people are forced to think a certain way. The nets do not have a diversity of voices. And because the guy in the next office wants your job, it lessens the possibility of independent thought," she said. "You're either in the house of art, the house of commerce or the house of politics. Those who create shows need to stay in the house of art."

U.S. producers often need a scorecard to keep up with other countries' often-changing co-production rules. Australia, for example, has amended its International Co-production Guidelines to increase the types of television projects eligible for co-production status. It used to be that co-production status was only given if the story idea was based in Australia or the co-producing country. Now, it can be based anywhere, as long as a citizen of one of the co-producing countries writes the screenplay.

This is good news for Noel Price, head of Southern Star Pacific, who said, "U.S. producers and second-tier free-to-air broadcasters are now talking to us about co-productions. They are finding it increasingly difficult to cover costs from license fees for both children's drama and animation."