The transaction that handed Alliance Atlantis Communications a 50% share in TV phenomenon CSI more than six years ago continues to pay off for the prodco, as the ubiquitous franchise marks a milestone 300 episodes on Oct. 23.

‘Nobody could have anticipated its success,’ says Ted Riley, head of international distribution for AAC, which coproduces CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and spinoffs CSI: Miami and CSI: NY with CBS, in addition to handling worldwide distribution for all three dramas, which have sold to more than 200 territories.

The franchise has transcended the television cop show genre with its often imitated, ultra-sleek visuals and flashy high-tech approach to the police procedural, along with unflappable detectives Gil Grissom (William L. Petersen), Horatio Caine (David Caruso) in the Miami spinoff, and Mac Taylor (Gary Sinise) in CSI: NY.

With its 103rd episode, CSI: Miami brings the franchise total to 300 eps.

‘The visuals started with [executive producer] Jerry Bruckheimer,’ recalls CSI executive producer Carol Mendelsohn. ‘It was very important to him that when viewers flipped the channels and saw CSI, they’d say ‘That’s a Bruckheimer show.”

‘We work very hard at giving the shows a distinctive style and look to make it as visually interesting as it is verbally interesting,’ says Jonathan Littman, president of Jerry Bruckheimer Television.

Back in 2000, when CBS announced its fall schedule, Touchstone Television was attached as coproducer for CSI – created by rookie Anthony E. Zuiker, who now exec produces with Ann Donahue, Mendelsohn and Bruckheimer.

But prior to the show’s premiere on Oct. 6, Touchstone, owned by The Walt Disney Company, relinquished its share, skeptical that the series could make any money.

‘At that point, CBS began looking around for a distributor to be attached,’ Riley recalls. ‘They came to Alliance Atlantis because they knew we had an international distribution infrastructure, we were good partners of theirs and we had cash.’ Alliance and CBS had previously coproduced TV movies including Due South, which later aired as a series on the U.S. network.

Riley, who is based in Dublin, Ireland, notes that the opportunity for an independent Canadian company to get involved on a U.S. network drama series is so rare that the decision was somewhat of a ‘no-brainer.’ Riley worked on the deal with company execs including then-CEO Michael MacMillan and Peter Sussman, president of AAC’s operations in L.A. at the time.

‘They were life savers for us,’ Mendelsohn says. ‘They believed in our show at a time when not many did.’

While AAC has some creative involvement in the series in terms of reading scripts and consulting with producers – through its main creative executive Janine Coughlin – the prodco’s primary business is selling CSI in all media and platforms outside of the U.S. Nearly 50 people work on international sales for the franchise.

‘They’re extremely supportive,’ notes Littman. ‘[AAC] works very hard for CSI’s success internationally.’

What Riley will only refer to as the ‘substantial sum of money’ AAC paid to coproduce CSI is undoubtedly a drop in the bucket compared to revenue generated by the franchise to date.

Playback estimates that of the nearly $160 million AAC spent on production overall in 2005, about $138 million was dished out for the three CSI dramas.

Meanwhile, AAC’s 2005 year-end report reflects revenues of $288 million for the CSIs, up from $205 million the previous year – an increase of 41%.

In July this year, AAC signed deals for the second window rights for all three dramas in countries such as Spain, France, Germany, the U.K. and Australia totaling some US$250 million.

The worldwide appeal of the franchise, Riley says, lies with its problem-solving formula that speaks to all cultures.

‘[Global audiences] understand the nature of figuring out the murder mystery with science, and in the case of Miami, it’s also an exotic location,’ he says.

Miami has stolen some of the spotlight from the original CSI, as reflected in a report released in February by Europe-based research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, which ranked it as the most successful show on global TV screens in 2005.

The series, which marked its own milestone 100th episode on Oct. 2 in the U.S. and in Canada on CTV, which airs all three CSIs, beat out heavy hitters Lost and Desperate Housewives, ranked second and third on the Informa list. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, currently in its seventh season, ranked sixth.

Riley acknowledges that Alliance Atlantis would be a very different looking company had CSI not come along.

‘Alliance Atlantis struggled with a large debt load,’ he says. ‘The cash flow of CSI has gone a long way in allowing us to become a healthier company on the balance sheet.’

AAC ruffled some feathers when it exited Canadian production at the end of 2003 to concentrate on its specialty channel broadcasting. It kept making the CSIs, of course. Riley maintains the risk and budget levels AAC was putting into Canadian shows just weren’t being matched in terms of revenue.

And the CSI franchise is nowhere near exhausted, according to Riley, who adds that for a strong brand like the CSIs, there are always ample opportunities for new activities, from mobile and Internet to merchandising.

‘These franchises have become such high-stakes entities,’ he says. ‘The fact that something could slip off Disney’s radar and get scooped up by an independent is something that happens once a decade.’

www.allianceatlantis.com

www.cbs.com/primetime/CSI