Torre, Paul2021-01-082021-01-082020http://viewjournal.eu/articles/10.18146/view.215/https://mediarep.org/handle/doc/16162This article explores the production and distribution process for television co-productions and explains the potential benefits and risks compared to other media joint ventures, like television formatting. Using a detailed case study of one television series within a larger co-production agreement between a German rights trader and a Hollywood studio, the author analyzes production and distribution challenges and complex contractual arrangements within the context of global media trade. Co-productions are situated in between, and as a transition from, acquiring rights to canned television programs, and acquiring rights to television formats. The author contends that a range of difficulties in co-productions has contributed to a turn to television formatting, where the production process is more easily controlled and customized by the partner acquiring the property, leading to more predictable and successful distribution outcomes.engCreative Commons Attribution Share Alike 4.0 GenericFernsehenÖkonomie070791https://doi.org/10.18146/view.21510.25969/mediarep/153522213-0969