Quiz 2 - Key Concepts in Television Production and Financing

Production company's fee

10%-15% of production budget

Two companies that formerly owned The CW

Warner Bros. Entertainment and Paramount Global's CBS Studios

Disney's payment for 21st Century Fox

$71.3 billion

Main revenue streams for cable networks

Advertising and subscription fees

Company that bought The CW

Nexstar, 75% stake

MVPD

Multichannel Video Programming Distributor and Comcast Xfinity is an example

Basis for calculating broadcast network license fee

It's based on the production cost per episode

Season representing great profit potential

Season 3

Episodes in a traditional broadcast network series order

22 Episodes

Pilot season for a broadcast network

January to March

Development/pitching season for a broadcast network

June to December

Stages to get a TV series from idea to production

Packaging and Studio Rights Acquisition, Pitching and Set-Up, Script Development, Pilot, Upfronts, and Staffing and Writing.

Typical broadcast season of a network tv series

September to May

Reasons for financial interest and syndication rules

To limit network monopolies and to stop networks from owning production companies.

Bob Bakish

He was the former president of Paramount Global

CEO of Disney

Bob Iger

Under The CW’s former owners, they were allowed to distribute/exhibit shows from any production studios but the new owners have severely limited The CW’s ability to work with other production studios

False

In the acquisition deal between Fox and Disney, Fox retained one of its major production studios

False

Traditional MVPD's revenue loss reason

cord-cutting

TV studios usually get 100% of the costs to finance their tv shows from the tv networks that are licensing them

False

TV pilots are customarily produced by TV networks

False

When a network produces a tv pilot that means they intend to produce the pilot into a tv series

False

Largest media company

Comcast

Vertical integration is when two companies in different industries merge together to form one company

False

Majority revenue from foreign license fees

TV Studio

Typical copyright holder of a tv series

The studio

Reason for deficit of $23 million in Supernatural

All of the Above

Who pays for script development costs

The Studio

MPVD or Pay TV Providers compensation

All of the above

Elimination of Financial Syndication rules effect

Stimulate media consolidation

CW's design purpose

It was a platform created to promote original content owned by its original owners so they could generate revenue from their shows in foreign markets and streaming sales

Typical production schedule for a 30-minute multi-cam comedy

Two days of pre-production and five days of production (of which two days are dedicated to filming, and three days to rehearsal, blocking, and other preparatory work)

Typical production schedule for a 60-minute drama

Traditionally seven days of pre-production and eight days of photography.

Talent deal renegotiation timing

Prior to production of the series's fourth season

CEOs of Warner Discovery, Disney, Comcast/Universal, and LionsGate

David Zaslav, Bob Iger, Brian L. Roberts, and Jon Feltheimer

Deficit Financing definition

When the licensing fee doesn't completely cover a project's production budget

Deficit Financing business practice

Production studios

Key difference between Sony Entertainment and Paramount Global

Paramount has a streaming service and Sony does not

Spec script definition

To be written by a writer for an uncertain fee if sold

Main difference in option agreement

The rights holder (the party with the intellectual property) sets the purchase price of the IP in advance of signing the deal

Presidential administration for Financial Syndication repeal

Bill Clinton

Cost Plus business model in television

All of the Above

Example of linear and non-linear programming networks

Linear is CBS and non-linear is Netflix

Response to cost plus deals question

No

Response to back 9's question

To prepare for if the show has a large audience and high demand.

Current trend in episode order pattern

Decreasing

Programming services likely to employ 'straight to series'

Disney+ and Hulu

Acquisitions department job description

Watching episodes, scheduling pitch meetings, reviewing data metric on performance content

David Ellison

All the above

Difference between executive producer, development executive, production executive

Executive producer oversees production; development executive focuses on projects; production executive manages logistics.

Put pilot commitment definition

A commitment to produce a pilot or pay a pilot penalty fee for non-production

Reasons for 'Walking Dead' revenue deficit

All the above