A special relationship

RDF USA, Mentorn USA, Lion USA, Granada America, Darlow Smithson... the British have invaded the previously inscrutable world of American television. A decade into the explosion of UK factual programs and reality formats on US television, what are we to make of this special relationship?

The very different television traditions in the two regions make for very different TV landscapes, but have fostered an unexpected synergy that shows no signs of abating. "Since Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, British inventiveness in terms of new ideas and new formats has been at a premium in the US," says John Willis, chief executive at the London office of Mentorn, which will make 45 hours for US television this year. "There was a time when you couldn't get across the threshold of a lot of the major networks, but now you get welcomed pretty warmly."

The decades the British spent nurturing the factual format, whilst Americans focused on dramas and sitcoms, have produced a region of talented, creative program-makers. "In the UK, they've really been a step ahead of where the US landscape has been in terms of creating, scheduling and producing," says Chris Coelen, CEO of RDF USA. "There's a depth of talent and a huge tradition and heritage that we don't have in the United States."

That tradition includes a broadcasting climate in which a huge range of factual plays on the major networks in primetime. It is lighter on its feet, and more diverse than its American counterpart. "In the UK, we have a lot of factual, but it tends to eat itself quite quickly," says Jonathan Hewes, the deputy chief executive of London's Wall to Wall, and the man in charge of US operations. "We tend to innovate, with shorter runs; two or three years and they're gone and then a new thing comes along."

The two sport different models for creating television, according to Willis. "What you've got in the US is a high-level, effective factory which is creating a mass production of entertainment," he says. "We're much more like a little sort of boutique here, developing and sculpting things on a small scale."

The UK has a less gripping fear of failure than us broadcasters, making for different approaches to testing new shows. "In the States, it's actually a long pseudo scientific process developing an idea, and obviously their development team and their marketing team and their sales team are sifting through the idea on many levels," says Nick Catliff, managing director of Lion Television in London. "Then you go to pilot, then you have endless agonizing, and often quite useful focus grouping. By the time you actually get to make the show you may have been in some kind of pre-production for at least a year. Whereas here with the kind of programs we make - the format show, the factual entertainment and specialist factual - you pilot on-air. You make the first series."

With so many short runs on British television, programs can sometimes come and go without making much of a splash in the UK, only to be bought up internationally and become big hits. Such was the case for Lion's Cash Cab, which had two languid runs on ITV, but went on to sell in 40 countries - and become a hit for Discovery in the US. "I can tell you why it's a great hit in other countries but can't tell you why it didn't take off here," muses Catliff, who is now launching the format in India.