The problem this service answers
A co-production has to be assembled for a territory where the team has no existing relationships, and the shortlist so far comes from whoever happened to be met at the last market.
Sourcing by proximity produces predictable results. The producers you already know, the distributors who already call you and the catalogues already presented to you represent a narrow slice of what exists, and that slice is usually the one your competitors also see. Widening it systematically is what changes the quality of a slate.
The financial dimension makes it more demanding. A co-production partner has to fit editorially, but also structurally: the funding mechanisms available in their territory, their delivery track record, their rights position and their relationships with local broadcasters determine whether a project can actually be assembled around them.
What the assignment covers
This service identifies content, producers, distributors and potential partners matching a brief you define with us: genre, budget range, territory, language, delivery format, funding structure and editorial orientation. The search is systematic rather than relational: it is built from registers and public records rather than from existing contacts, and it deliberately covers territories where you have no network.
Each candidate is documented rather than merely listed. Profiles cover the company, its recent productions, its usual broadcasters and platform relationships, the funding mechanisms it typically uses, its delivery record where that is publicly documented, and, for content, the rights situation as far as it can be established from public sources.
Where the brief concerns finished content rather than partners, the work follows the same logic: catalogue titles matching the specification, with their origin, their existing exposure by territory, previous distribution arrangements where these are documented, and the availability constraints that would need to be verified directly with the rights holder before any approach.
How we work on it
- We translate your brief into explicit search criteria, including editorial, financial and territorial parameters.
- A long list is built from production registers, funding decisions, market activity and catalogue material.
- Each candidate is verified for activity, structure and recent output before entering the shortlist.
- Profiles are documented with track record, relationships and, where establishable, rights position.
- The shortlist is ranked against your criteria, with the reasons for exclusion stated for the rest.
- Contact points are identified from public professional information where you intend to approach directly.
Where the information comes from
Sources are selected with you at the start of the assignment and reviewed as the subject evolves.
- Public production registers, audiovisual funding decisions and support scheme publications.
- Distributor and producer catalogues, market listings and screening programmes.
- Broadcaster and platform announcements documenting commissioning relationships.
- Company registries and corporate publications establishing structure and activity.
- Trade coverage of co-production, financing and international content markets.
Possible deliverables
The format is chosen with you. A single assignment can combine several of them.
- A qualified shortlist matching the brief, with the criteria applied stated explicitly.
- A documented profile per candidate: activity, track record, relationships, funding context.
- A mapping of the production and distribution landscape for a given territory and genre.
- A note on rights situations where they can be established from public sources.
- A record of excluded candidates with the reason for each exclusion.
Who this service is designed for
What this service does not promise
We identify and document candidates from public sources. We do not negotiate, represent either party, verify rights chains legally or guarantee that a partner will be available or interested.
How to start
Send us the brief: genre, territory, budget range, language and the structure you need. We will define the search criteria in writing before any sourcing begins.