The British Have Landed -- on TV

Could it be another British invasion?

The British Broadcasting Corp. has long been an idea factory for American TV producers, dating back to that United Kingdom export “Till Death Do Us Part,” recast for U.S. audiences as “All in the Family.” But the BBC has been particularly busy in recent months, scripting itself as a bigger player in Hollywood, hoping to wring more money from its concepts and programs.

BBC Worldwide Ltd., the commercial arm of the venerable network, sold CBS an idea for an unscripted show called “Sack Race,” in which contestants spend a day at work trying to get fired. The unit also recently hooked ABC with a pitch for a dating show, “Nice Package.”

Plans are in the offing to launch a 24-hour BBC cable news channel to compete with CNN and Fox News in the U.S. BBC executives entertained movie executives at the Hollywood Bowl last week to angle for a distributor for their feature-length ocean documentary, “The Blue Planet.”

And while most Hollywood honchos were off celebrating America’s Fourth of July declaration of independence from England, the Brits were busy putting the final touches on a TV development deal with Universal Television and producer Ben Silverman.

“We really want to get ourselves into a position where we provide more of the programming of broadcasters’ schedules,” said Mark Young, president and chief executive of BBC Worldwide Americas. “We’ve changed our strategy from being an exporter of British programming into being a creator of global programs.”

The BBC already has built a presence around the globe. Its news and entertainment channels reach more than 500 million homes in Latin America, Africa, Australia, Europe and Asia.

Now, the BBC Worldwide is aggressively making inroads in America, hoping to capitalize on its increasing profile.

Five years ago, a dozen public television stations in the United States carried BBC’s World News program. Now, it’s on more than 225 stations.

In the days leading up to the war in Iraq, more than 1 million U.S. homes tuned in to the nightly BBC newscasts. In May, after major combat was declared over, viewership averaged nearly 900,000 homes -- a 25% increase from the previous year.

Executives said the recent controversy surrounding the BBC’s reporting about the British government’s use of intelligence to make the case for a war in Iraq, and the subsequent suicide of one of the network’s key government sources, has not damped expansion plans.

This month, BBC Worldwide reported a record year, with sales topping $1 billion and profit of more than $50 million. Sales in the U.S. exceeded $160 million last year.

BBC executives’ appetite for more American dollars was whetted four years ago after they watched the U.S. version of the British game show “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” explode on ABC. Although the BBC did not own the rights to that program, it saw the potential and quickly offered up “The Weakest Link” and other shows that have gone on to success in the U.S.

Now, one of the most popular programs on Discovery Networks’ the Learning Channel is the home design show “Trading Spaces,” a takeoff of the BBC’s “Changing Rooms.” TLC also duplicated the BBC’s “What Not to Wear,” a critique of fashion faux pas.

But the BBC’s biggest marketing weapon in the U.S. has been its BBC America cable channel. Launched five years ago by the Discovery Networks, BBC America has watched its ratings and ad revenue swell. Available through satellite and digital cable service, it reaches 35 million homes, up from 28 million a year ago.

Americans once had little exposure to BBC programs other than occasional imports that aired late or on public TV stations. Fox Broadcasting Entertainment President Gail Berman remembers growing up in Philadelphia and the troubles she had following her favorite British show, “The Interns.”

“It ran on some UHF channel in the middle of the night,” Berman said. “For kids these days, these shows are cool and funny, and easy to find.”

Big kids are watching too. NBC Entertainment President Jeff Zucker was channel surfing about a year ago when he landed on BBC America and “Couplings,” a show about thirtysomethings looking for love.

“It was sophisticated, smart and funny,” he recalled. “I came into work the next day and asked: Has anyone seen this show?”

NBC will roll out a version of “Couplings” this fall. Fox hopes to capture some of the success of “The Kumars at No. 42,” a comedy that delves into Indian immigrant culture. But on Fox, the Kumars are morphing into Mexican immigrants called “The Ortegas” who live in Van Nuys.

“British formats are very appealing to us, in our endless search of new material and being on the cutting edge,” Berman said.

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Crossover hits

British television has long served as an inspiration for U.S. TV producers.

British then ... ... American now

Till Death Do Us Part ... ... All in the Family

Queer as Folk ... ... Queer as Folk

Changing Rooms ... ... Trading Spaces

Source: Times research

Los Angeles Times