Col & ABCP 'Strand' together

By J. MAX ROBINS

The deal between Columbia Pictures TV and ABC Prods. on the ABC drama "Do the Strand" could be the tip of a much larger iceberg -- providing a model for network-studio alliances in defraying the cost of hour series.

According to sources, the agreement on "Strand" could point the way toward distribution arrangements, designed to address revised provisions of the financial interest and syndication rules.

Under that scenario, webs and studios could split deficits from production and backend revenues on hour series, with the studio acting as domestic distributor and waiving its distribution fee, instead splitting the backend with the network.

Officials at CapCities/ABC and Columbia couldn't be reached for comment, but sources maintained that no such deal was in place between the network and Sony Pictures Entertainment unit at this time. Others said Columbia is seeking creative ways to react to recently drafted changes in fin-syn, which still require the networks to rely on a third party for domestic distribution chores while greatly expanding their ability to produce and own the programs they air.

Columbia has already struck a network-friendly posture toward that new environment. Last month, the company reached an arrangement with NBC Prods. in its planned Bill Cosby mystery movies and series -- making two producers under contract to the studio, William Link and David Black, available to NBCP as show runners in exchange for certain distribution rights (Daily Variety, April 19).

"Do the Strand," a light action hour scheduled for 10 p.m. Wednesdays next fall, was developed by Col but is now listed as being from Columbia Pictures TV and ABC Prods. Another Col series, the drama "Birdland" starring Brian Dennehy, has been picked up for midseason by ABC but remains a Columbia-only property.

The ABC-Columbia "Strand" arrangement will help both parties offset the cost of producing the show, which will lens in Miami and carry a significant price tag. Action hours can routinely run deficits of more than $ 300,000 per episode.

Network alliances can also be a leg up in getting a show on the air. Studio brass have frequently voiced studio concerns that the networks will produce more of their own programming if the fin-syn regs are eliminated.