ABSTRACT
Three major forces have driven television production, especially global television production, to coproduction: politics, financing, and the need for global audiences. Quotas and limitations established during the official formation of the European Community (EC) had a great impact. The trend set by the EC rippled out to create additional quotas and restrictions by other nations. The quotas varied from nation to nation, and many went far beyond the EC ruling. While this quota is similar to that in France, Portugal makes an exception for programming produced in Brazil, where Portuguese is spoken. The trend toward quotas to limit the influence cultural and commercial of the USA by limiting exposure to USA programming went well beyond Europe also, especially in the English-speaking countries. As technologies converge and nations deregulate themselves, everyone will be seeking a safe haven that guarantees an audience and a chance for future production.
