Reference: StudentFilmmakers Magazine, August 2007. Negotiating a Broadcast Deal for Your Film: What to Do When You’re in the ‘Land of the Low Licensing Fees for Independents’ by Stacey Parks. Pages 45.
I was talking to a filmmaker about the Sundance Channel who has offered her a broadcast deal for her film, but the offer is abysmally low.
She’s frustrated…mostly because her film actually won an award at this year’s Toronto Film Festival, and her last film had theatrical distribution….
Basically, she cannot believe how low the licensing fees are from broadcasters these days and is wondering if I can help up the offer from Sundance.
Knowing that Sundance also has a home video arm, my first inclination is to try and bundle in home video rights for the film and say, ‘Listen guys, we’ll give you 2 years broadcast plus 5 years exclusive home video rights, plus the filmmakers will finance a limited theatrical release to promote the heck out of the movie and drive viewers and customers.’
Note: They were planning on doing a limited theatrical release anyway, because since they didn’t get theatrical distribution off of Toronto, and not even an independent booker will work with them, they are going to just book the theaters themselves and hire out the PR/marketing to help drive ticket-buyers.
So the point of the story is this: If you get offered a broadcast deal, and the offer is so low it’s embarrassing, try the tactic of either bundling in home video rights and doubling the price (if they have a home video arm), or tell them that you agree to do a limited theatrical release of the film to help promote it, and get them to increase the license fee to help with those costs.
None of this is guaranteed to work in the land of the low licensing fees for independents by the way, but it’s worth a shot.
I’m going to give it a shot with this film, and see how it goes. Fingers crossed!
Stacey Parks is the author of the “Inside Guide To Independent Film Distribution,” a comprehensive educational program for filmmakers and producers dedicated to film distribution and the marketplace. Stacey has worked in independent film for over 10 years, and is currently a sales executive at the BBC Worldwide in Los Angeles. She was previously a foreign sales agent for many years. Her website is www.FilmSpecific.com.
