O'seas buyers take tour of 'Miami'

Territories include U.K., Germany

By ELIZABETH GUIDER

HOLLYWOOD -- Alliance Atlantis' "CSI: Miami," the spinoff to hit Las Vegas-set crime drama, has wrapped up sales since June to TV stations in a dozen-plus overseas territories, including deals in difficult markets such as the U.K. (Channel 5) and Germany (Vox).

Deals also have been made in the top markets of France (TF1), Canada (CTV) and Australia (Channel Nine), as well as in most Latin American and several Asian countries.

No figures were available for the price per episode of the series, but the original "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" racked up about $650,000 per episode -- a healthy sum considering that Alliance Atlantis is an indie distrib with no hit movies to package with the series, and that foreign stations are now strapped for cash.

The original "CSI" has been licensed in 150 territories, according to Maria Sanchez, AA's managing director of distribution. Most of the stations that have so far licensed the Miami show also air the original.

Sanchez said the huge response reflected in these latest sales is "quite remarkable in this current environment where internationally, sales for TV programs have contracted considerably. This makes the success of the 'CSI' franchise internationally that much more incredible and is a real testament to the quality of the series and the creative talent involved."

Both series air domestically on CBS, and are produced by Alliance Atlantis and CBS Prods. in association with Jerry Bruckheimer Films.