The issue of audio-visual content international distribution and circulation is one of the most relevant in recent debates in Media and Television Studies: in the “age of plenty” (Ellis: 2000) distribution presents innovative features relating to both the introduction of new digital platforms and the diverse strategies developed by traditional and innovative players (including public service broadcasters, commercial, pay broadcasters and OTT services).

This area has been the subject of much previous scholarship, particularly in terms of the relevance of TV formats, their centrality for the medium and its economy, and the different practices of adaptation and “localization” (Moran: 2009; Chalaby: 2016). However, much less attention has been devoted to ready-made content and its circulation among different countries and markets. “Canned programming” is typically the output of a specific national TV and media system, but it spills across borders when licensed into different territories.

This special issue of VIEW focuses on the international circulation and distribution of ready-made content, in the form of scripted products, considering both TV fiction and films.