TV Studios Court Licensing Deals in Bustling Foreign Markets

For US studios, the international TV bazaar is bustling and has never been more lucrative.

Licensing Hollywood TV shows abroad was once a small side business for big US media companies, but is now providing a much-needed source of growth as parts of their domestic businesses slow down. Beyond that, the overseas cash flow is playing an essential role in financing ambitious American productions -- from “The Blacklist” to “CSI.” Contracting talent is getting costlier as more cable channels and streaming providers jump into original programming. The cost of a typical one-hour drama has increased as much as 50% in five years to over $3 million per episode, agents and industry analysts say. Studios like Warner pay to produce the shows and then license them to networks like NBC and ABC. But the U.S. networks can only afford to pay a portion of the costs -- often half or two-thirds -- leaving studios with a big programming deficit. Selling to foreign channels is increasingly vital to plug that gap and make shows profitable.