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International deals key
to ‘Baywatch’ future

By Tim Ryan
Star-Bulletin

Whether "Baywatch Hawaii" stays afloat for a second season depends on foreign distribution deals that won't be decided until later this month

The board of directors of Pearson, owners of the hour-long lifeguard drama, will meet with its Los Angeles representatives in its London office in the next few weeks to discuss the show's future. L.A. executives are expected to recommend the show continue at least one more year if not two.

Chris-Craft Industries, which owns television stations in major U.S. markets including Los Angeles, New York, Portland and San Francisco, told Pearson representatives at the National Association of Television Producers and Executives in New Orleans last month that it wants "Baywatch Hawaii" for another two years, Pearson and "Baywatch" executives said.

That's fine for the domestic front but the Chris-Craft deal doesn't mean a thing unless Pearson can structure foreign sales to its liking, said Greg Bonann, "Baywatch" creator and executive producer. Under the current agreement, "Baywatch Hawaii" will lose some money next year unless foreign distribution fees are increased.

Though "Baywatch" airs on more foreign stations than any show in television history -- and about 160 stations in the United States -- fees paid by foreign distributors to air the program are far lower than those paid by U.S. distributors, Bonann said.

The fee depends on the country and the distributor's ability to sell advertising there, Bonann said. In China, for instance, where "Baywatch" is dubbed in three languages, stations pay less for the show than in Australia.

"Baywatch" also has stronger competition in countries like Germany where more local productions are being done, Bonann said. "Baywatch" for several years was a top-rated show in Germany, but local productions have knocked the U.S. import out of prime-time.

Another obstacle in selling foreign distribution this year is none of the 22 new Hawaii episodes have been broadcast outside the United States (19 episodes have aired in the United States so far.) Pearson Television in the next month will begin sending the completed show to its international buyers so it can be dubbed and prepared for these markets.

"Right now foreign distributors don't have any feedback on the change in the show; they're nine months behind us," Bonann said. "The gamble for them is obvious, but we believe the foreign market will appreciate what the domestic market has."

Bonann says keeping "Baywatch Hawaii" for "several" more seasons is "an investment in the future."

"Even if it means losing some money this year we'll make it back in the long run," he said.

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'Baywatch'er hapai

"Baywatch Hawaii" producer and creator Greg Bonann got a surprise this fall during filming of the hourlong lifeguard drama.

Popular co-star Brooke Burns, 21, one of the four female "lifeguards" on the show, told her boss she was pregnant.

Even the "Baywatch Hawaii" cast and crew didn't know, though some noticed a bit of weight gain toward the end of filming in early December.

Burns, who just completed her second season on "Baywatch Hawaii," married actor Julian McMahon, 32, Dec. 22. They met two years ago in Australia when "Baywatch" filmed some shows there. McMahon, a native Australian, is known to television viewers as character John Grant on the NBC show "Profiler."

Whether "Baywatch Hawaii" returns here for a second season has not been decided.

If it does, filming would begin late May or early June, Bonann said. That would put Burns about eight months into her pregnancy.

The producer says he does not know if Burns wants to return to "Baywatch Hawaii."

"We're not sure yet what we'll do," Bonann said. "It all depends on the actress: how fast can she return physically and emotionally."

The show faced pregnancy issues with two other actresses: Pamela Anderson and Gena Lee Nolin, who both returned to the show soon after having their babies.

Burns and McMahon live in Los Angeles.

Star-Bulletin

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