TV Development Guide, Page 7
Stephanie Varella
you.
In the last 20 years, the number of U.S. television buyers, or out-
lets, went from 6 to over 50! Therefore, it is important to start by
creating a list for yourself so you can keep track of all the buyers
and their audiences. I call it the 'Buyers List.' Every development
executive and/or producer will have a version of this list in gen-
eral, and then they will generate one for each project.
Side note: It is not easy to get a handle on more than 50 places
that are looking for content. Oftentimes they are moving targets.
Once you think you understand what they want, they go and
change their brand! Also, there are currently two outlets that
are targeting all demographics. They are Netflix and Amazon.
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These companies have separate departments that cover the differ-
ent groups. Navigating and knowing who to pitch to has become
quite the challenge.
WHAT IS A BUYERS LIST?
The Buyers List is a list of all the networks, channels, and stream-
ing outlets. You should consider a buyer anyone who will pay for
content to air.
You can decide what elements to include on your spreadsheet/
table, but the basics should have the following:
1. The name of the network, e.g., ABC, FX, Netflix, or HBO.
2. Contact information. The name of the development executive
you would call to discuss your project.
3. Brand/Mandate information. This is a brief description of
who is watching that network and their types of program-
ming, e.g., for SYFY- more male than female 18 to 49, genre/
science-fiction.
4. Notes section. This section can include your thoughts about
which of your projects you would like to present, what hap-
pened when you called, when you met, etc.
By exploring which buyers are looking for what kind of shows,
and why, it will help you plan and strategize where to sell your
projects. ( See “Strategy” below)
ARE THERE ANY DIFFERENCES SELLING TO A BROADCAST
NETWORK, A STREAMING PLATFORM, A PREMIUM CABLE
OR BASIC CABLE CHANNEL?
Yes, definitely. Here’s how it breaks down.
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BROADCAST NETWORKS:
ABC, CBS, FBC (FOX), NBC, CW
They transmit to everyone with a television at no cost to the view-
er because the content is paid for by advertisers. That’s why there
are so many commercials.
When selling to Broadcast Networks and Basic Cable vs. Premium
Cable and Streaming platforms, it is important to consider the
format of your show. Broadcast and Basic Cable shows have ‘act
breaks’ to allow for commercials and it is standard that they end
in cliffhangers. The network is hoping that viewers believe they
will miss something important if they change the channel and are
persuaded to stay tuned through the commercials.
On the other hand, Streaming services have no act breaks in their
TV shows per se. They may have an end of a scene that feels like
the perfect time to go to a commercial, but they don’t. They con-
tinue on to the next scene.
Even though all TV outlets have their own rights to self-censor-
ship, some are more tightly regulated than others. Broadcast Net-
works act in accordance to rules called, ‘Standards and Practices.’
This is a department at the network that is governed by federal
regulations and determines if a show can air. It includes looking
at all moral, ethical or legal implications that the program may
infer onto the network. This can include what they consider to be
“mature language,” “sexual content,” etc. These Standards and
Practices have an obligation to protect the public since the pro-
gramming is free and easily accessible to all, especially children.
With Broadcast channels there is less of a need for viewer discre-
tion.
With Basic Cable there are also Standards and Practices in place,
however their rules are more relaxed. The thought is that because
this service is not free and you have to pay for it, it is more likely
mom and dad will regulate what the kids are watching.
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Streaming/Internet outlets have parental controls which can be
selected and activated to control viewing. This is why there are no
Standards and Practices rules in place for these channels.
BASIC CABLE:
ADULT SWIM, AMC, BET, BBCA, COMEDY CENTRAL, DIS-
NEY, DISNEY JR., DISCOVERY, E!, FREEFORM, FX, FXX,
HALLMARK, IFC, LIFETIME, MTV, NATGEO, NICK-
ELODEON, NICK JR., OWN, PARAMOUNT, SUNDANCE,
SYFY, TNT, USA, WE TV
When these Basic Cable networks started, they had to figure out
how to compete with the “Big Six" (this is what we called the
broadcast networks in the 1990s because it included UPN and the
WB). Before most of them made a name for themselves, HBO ( a
Premium Cable network, defined below) found its audience. Other
Basic Cable networks soon followed suit. They realized they had
to be different and find theirs as well. One by one, most of them
have found their niche. In 2017, there were about 94 million Cable
TV subscribers. ( Variety, “Cord-Cutting Soared in 2017” )
When the programming is not working, or there is a shift in exec-
utives, the heads of the network may change their brand. They
hire a whole new development team, restructure and try again.
Some examples are ABCFamily became FREEFORM; UPN and
WB became the CW; and SPIKE is now PARAMOUNT.
PREMIUM CABLE/STREAMING:
APPLE, AMAZON PRIME VIDEO, CINEMAX, CBS: ALL AC-
CESS, DISNEY+, EPIX, FACEBOOK, HBO, HULU, LOGO,
NETFLIX, SHOWTIME, STARZ, YOUTUBE RED, AWESOME-
NESS
Premium Cable/Streaming services work differently than Broad-
cast or Basic Cable because the viewer is charged a subscription
fee. These outlets don’t have to rely on money from advertisers/
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commercials, ratings or Standards and Practices. All they care
about is selling subscriptions.
In order for them to stand out, they produce shows that would
never be allowed to air on Broadcast or Basic Cable networks. In
2017, HBO had 54 million subscribers in the US alone. ( Statista.com
“Number of HBO Domestic Subscribers” 2017)
In the last five to eight years, the Streaming/online networks took
this same model and created their own channels. At first, every-
one wasn’t sure if it was going to work. Streaming content over
the internet was very, very slow. Nowadays, it’s almost seamless
and they are able to compete. It seems every day there is a new
website creating original content. In 2017, Netflix had over 55 mil-
lion subscribers in the US alone. “For comparison, there are about
94 million pay TV subscribers in the U.S.”( Recode.com, “Netflix Now
Has Nearly 118 Million Streaming Subscribers Globally,” 2017)
WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE BROADCAST AND CA-
BLE NETWORKS?
There are many people
who believe Broadcast networks will not
be around forever and will one day be replaced. That is a real pos-
sibility. It is also what the subscription-based networks/channels
would like you to believe, as that is their competition.
Today, there are mergers and much consolidation in the media
business. Recently Disney bought much of FOX because they
wanted a bigger stake in Hulu. This is causing major changes in
the system. Most of us do not know how this will all shake out,
but my feeling is that this will change the Broadcast and Basic Ca-
ble channels’ future.
Also, there is a current trend by some families to “cut the cord”
and not pay for cable TV. There’s the thought that, in the future,
the TV and computer will become one and the same. I believe in
order for this to happen, Streaming will have to become as visual-
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ly clear as the Cable networks’ productions. Although the quality
of streaming video nowadays has vastly improved, at times it
leaves much to be desired. Once the quality is there, I still believe
there will be a need for live TV. Even as I write this book, Hulu
and Amazon Fire have added live TV! Hulu was the first Stream-
ing channel to include a live service. It remains to be seen how it
will all play out. Stay tuned…
DO ALL NETWORKS OWN THE CONTENT (SHOWS)
ON THEIR CHANNEL?
The answer is sometimes.
•
If a network’s sister studio is attached to produce the series,
then they own the show.
•
If the show is a co-production between two studios, then both
studios own the show.
•
If the network is not attached as the studio, they do not own
the show. In essence, they are just paying to air the show for a
period of time. The Studio that produced the show, owns the
show. ( See “The Studios” below)
DO ALL NETWORKS PRODUCE ORIGINAL CONTENT?
The answer is no.
•
There are some networks that have only ‘acquired content.’
That means they only have TV shows that have previously
aired on another network. These are channels where you see
re-runs of older shows. They do not have any original shows.
•
However, more and more channels are realizing that they can
make more money by producing original content, so today
there are very few networks that only acquire TV content.
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Some examples are MeTV, WGN, ion, and StartTV.
•
Most networks that have original content also have acquired
programming.
WHAT IS A LICENSE FEE?
When your show goes into production at a network, the network
will pay a fee, per episode, to the studio that is producing it for
the rights to air it. This is called a license fee. It is similar to leas-
ing. They are renting the series for a period of time from the stu-
dio that owns the show.
HOW DO STUDIOS FIT INTO THE PICTURE?
The studios are companies that own TV shows. Due to the fact
that many TV shows cost more money to produce than the net-
works are willing to pay, studios will deficit finance, or pay, the
amount of money it costs to produce it above the network’s li-
cense fee. This is why they own the show. By owning it, they get
to sell it domestically, as well as internationally, after the original
network airs the show in first-run.
Every time the studio sells that episode, they make money. It’s
like creating a painting for one gallery to show for a period of
time, for a specific price, and then you get it back to sell over and
over again to other places. You’ve done the work one time, yet
you make money on it again and again.
Today, more and more networks are working towards owning
more of their shows. As discussed earlier, the FCC made rules
against this because it became very difficult for independent com-
panies to get their shows produced. A big difference today is that
certain outlets, mostly streaming, are making their networks the
“go-to” place for independent producers and writers. They are
offering creative freedom that independents would not get at tra-
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ditional networks and, in turn, the outlet gets to own the show.
The downside for independent producers is they don’t get the
back-end profits that producers received yesteryear. In today’s
market, a producer, like AARON SPELLING, would have a very
different deal than he had back then. At that time, he owned all
the shows he produced for the broadcast networks and received a
significant amount of the back-end profits. That scenario doesn’t
happen anymore.
On YouTube, Indie producers can create their own YouTube chan-
nel, but they are getting money the more traditional way - through
advertisers.
It’s possible that one day soon with the success of the streaming
platforms that investors will finance independent producers for
online content much more than they do today because of the huge
profits that can be made with owning TV shows.
“LET’S MAKE A DEAL”
When you hear, “Let’s make a deal,” from a network and/or stu-
dio, you know you’ve made it! You have beaten the odds and are
on your way. This means they are moving forward with your
project and/or want to work with you. However, it doesn’t guar-
antee that your show will get made, or even be on the air, but get-
ting a deal is the first step in the right direction! Writers and pro-
ducers who have at least one, if not more, successful show on the
air will most likely get offered a deal.
If you do get your show on the air, it will have to be a hit and
happen during the time of your first deal for you to get a second
deal. This may sound harsh, but that is the reality. A network,
and/or studio, is banking on your success otherwise, it would not
be a wise investment for them.
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TYPES OF DEALS
There are four types of deals for writers and/or producers:
1. Overall Deal
2. First-Look Deal
3. Blind Script Deal
4. If/Come Deal
OVERALL DEAL
This is a deal that a network or studio makes with a writer or non-
writing producer so that the projects are exclusive to that network
or studio. This means, whether you are a writer or a non-writing
producer, every project you develop while in this deal belongs to
this network or studio.
The upside of this type of deal is that you have a “home.” The
network or studio will pay all your overhead costs, including
salaries for your employees (i.e., development executives and as-
sistants) and is eager to get your show produced.
The downside is if the network decides to pass (decline) on your
project for any reason, perhaps because your project is not right
for their brand, you would not be able to shop it around to othe
r
networks.
However, you would be able to bring your project to one of that
network’s sister networks. For example, if your deal is with FBC
(FOX), and they pass, you can bring it to one of their sister net-
works, like FX, but not to others, like CBS. If there is not a good fit
at any of their sister networks, you would not be able to work on
the project during the time you are in this deal.
Now let’s say your deal is with a studio and you want to sell to a
network that said they will buy your show only if their sister stu-
dio can co-produce. Your studio would have to make a deal with
the sister network or you wouldn’t be able to sell to that network.
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It should be noted that if the studio you are with is attached to a
network, e.g., ABC Studios is attached to ABC, generally you
would not have to be exclusive to that network. You could sell
your project to any network as long as a deal can be made by your
studio with the other network. Keep in mind there are a few stu-
dios that only sell to the network(s) they are attached to. An ex-
ample is CBS Productions.
The downside to having an overall deal with a studio is that you
would be developing and producing shows exclusively for them.
If they pass on one of your projects, you cannot shop it elsewhere.
An example of a writer/producer with studio overall deal is
SHONDA RHIMES. For 12 years, she was in an overall deal with
ABC Studios. All of her shows were/are on ABC, e.g., Grey’s
Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, and Scandal. They all fit
ABC’s brand. When she decided she wanted to branch out, she
had to leave ABC. She subsequently made another overall deal
with NETFLIX, where they brand to all audiences.
FIRST-LOOK DEAL
This is a deal that a network or studio makes with a writer or non-
writing producer so they can get a “first look” at their projects.
However, they are not exclusive to them.
This type of deal, like an Overall Deal, usually covers expenses for
the writer or non-writing producer, i.e., a salary, an assistant, an
office, etc.
The upside of a first-look deal with a network is that you have the
freedom to sell your project to any other network after they pass
on it. Networks pass on shows for a variety of reasons. One is
that the show isn’t working for them creatively so, even if they
pass on it, and it works on another network, they don’t take it too
