Network and Streaming Licenses and Studio Co-production Agreements
Ken Basin · 2018
The fundamental economic term of a license agreement is the license fee paid by the network in exchange for the rights granted to it under the deal. Broadcast networks generally insist on "two bites," meaning two opportunities to order a pilot or series to production. Streaming services, which often commission higher-budget series and eschew economically inefficient pilots, are more likely to insist on receiving additional written materials prior to starting their option clock. When a studio sets up a project with a network for development, it grants that network the exclusive option to order a pilot and/or series episodes of the project. There are two primary categories of duties that must be allocated in a co-production agreement: which studio is responsible for leading physical production of the series and which studio control the distribution rights in the series. Digital rights have proven especially problematic to negotiate because of the unique challenges they represent for studios and networks alike.