Media Audiences and Organizations Final

Acquisition executives

Professionals acquiring content for consumer-facing platforms.

Distribution companies

Entities that facilitate the sale and delivery of content from producers to consumer-facing platforms, ensuring wider availability and reach

Media Distribution

Process of making media content available to audiences through various platforms and ensuring profitability.

Business-to-Business (B2B)

Distribution model where content is distributed to other companies rather than directly to consumers.

Media Distributors

Individuals securing funding and connecting content creators with paying audiences.

End-User

The audience member or consumer who actively engages with media content and drives the profitability of the entertainment industry.

Consumer-facing platform

Directly interacts with end-users, offering content/services for consumption.

Profit margin

Percentage difference between product/service cost and revenue from sale.

Original content

Content produced by a platform itself to attract and retain users (rather than licensed from external sources)

Direct-to-Consumer (D2C)

Distribution model where content is distributed directly to consumers or end-users.

Audience Engagement

The interaction and response of viewers with the media content, which is a key focus for both content producers and distributors.

Profit Margins

Percentage of revenue exceeding costs associated with content distribution.

Purpose of Branding in Media Distribution

Establishing a clear and identifiable image or reputation for a distribution company builds trust with audiences and clients, leading to future business opportunities.

Output Deals

Business-to-business deals where a client agrees to purchase a minimum number of programs from a distributor for a set period, often without previewing the content.

First Look Deals

Agreements where a distributor commits to presenting new projects to a specific client before offering them to others.

Principle #1: Buyers Take and Sellers Keep

Buyers aim to acquire more for less, sellers negotiate for better terms.

Principle #2: A Property Is Only Worth What Someone's Willing to Pay

Value of media property determined by buyer's willingness to pay.

Principle #3: The Audience Decides What Gets Produced

Audience is the main filter in the development and production process.

Principle #4: The Script Is Complete When The Project Is Complete

Script evolves through filmmaking stages influenced by various factors.

Principle #5: Nothing Happens Until There's Skin in The Game

First investor significantly influences project direction and success.

Principle #6: All Media Devalues Over Time

Distributors strategically decide release order and platform for each title.

Principle #7: Relationships Fuel the Business

Industry thrives on connections and partnerships.

Greenlight

Approval to proceed with development and production of a project.

Treatment

Detailed outline of a screenplay or story, often used to pitch a project to potential investors or producers.

How to decrease risk

Consider audience, budget, genre, and brand.

How to increase success

Consider crossover appeal, evergreen content, and top client preferences.

Pre-sales

Agreements made with distributors or broadcasters before a project is completed, securing funding and distribution rights

Formats

Designed to mimic the original program, but tailored to a different geographic audience (US and UK The Office, UK and US Shameless)

Who vets a project?

Producers, showrunners, representatives, and distributors.

Deficit Financing

When funding is mostly secured and a new funder comes in to cover the gap

Co-producing

Formal partnership between two or more companies.

4 key elements of pre-sales (3 out of four needed)

Seed money, marketable talent, great script or hook, a talented distribution team

8 parts of the acquisition workflow

Reviewing, screening, projecting, acquiring, marketing, selling, reporting.

Programmers

Execute overall vision for the channel.

Regional distributors

Work outside the United States.

Rights

Determine how content will be distributed.

Term

Duration the buyer will have the product.

Output deal

Distributor gets to call all of the shots of the licensor takes and it secures minimum number of titles sold for a fixed amount of money (win-win).

Multi Territory deals

For networks with US and international presence.

Barter and Revenue Sharing Deals

Share risk and advertising revenue.

Cherry picking

Buyer selects a few select episodes that they believe will work for their specific territory or channel, while having reservations about the series as a whole
(Distributors try to keep a series as a bundle, even if a buyer only wants a few episodes, by spreading the license fee across all episodes and including language in the agreement stating the network is not obligated to broadcast all episodes.)

Windowing

Process of a media property's value decreasing until it is free.

Shelf Life

A buyer selects a few select episodes that they believe will work for their specific territory or channel, while having reservations about the series as a whole
(Distributors try to keep a series as a bundle, even if a buyer only wants a few episodes, by spreading the license fee across all episodes and including language in the agreement stating the network is not obligated to broadcast all episodes.)

VOD

Video on demand (e.g., pay TV, home entertainment).

AVOD

Ad-supported video on demand (e.g., freevee).

SVOD

Single subscription VOD (e.g., Netflix, Hulu).

TVOD

Transactional VOD (e.g., iTunes).

Second Wind

Project success years after initial release due to unforeseen circumstances.

1st Window

Theatrical run lasting 4-12 weeks.

2nd Window

Premium television run 3-12 months after theatrical run.

3rd Window

Ancillary exploitation 3-12 months after theatrical run.

4th Window

SVOD and basic cable 3-24 months after theatrical run.

5th Window

Free TV and AVOD 12-24 months after theatrical run.

Day Afters

Providing non-competitive rights immediately after premieres.

Holdovers

Limiting certain rights for a specified period to maintain value and future earning potential

Blackout Dates

Removing programs already in the market place from competing platforms

Three styles of content deals for international media distribution

Finished, reproduced, repurposed.

Finished content deals

Ready made content that is licensed to another country without changes

Reproduced content deals

A culturally relevant verison of a show's concept

Repurposed content deal

The content structure stays the same but some things are cut

Major international media territories

Australia, China, France, Latin America, UK.

Under-the-table deals

Strategies to bypass traditional marketing paths.

Preferred placement

Leading actor's name placement on marketing materials.

Reboots

Re-build and re-create the existing IP (story keeps getting revised and updated and new layers are added; new characters and new alternative storylines)

Remakes

Adheres to the original and only deviates to update modern technology