Digging to the Bottom of Film and TV Finance

Of all the complex entertainment areas that one can discuss, film and TV finance happen to be far much complicated than all the others. Firstly, you have to get to know the ropes however good your idea is and if you remain adamant, your good ideas will remain just that; ideas. However, with the right partner to guide you through, film and TV finance becomes a bit clearer and you have a good chance of having your script read and cast. The fact that this is not a common area of discourse means that as you sit through that TV series, you don’t put a lot of thought to the efforts that actually went into making it a reality. Understanding the innards of this broad area might make any TV or film maker appreciate the intricacies involved.

Firstly, film and TV finance revolves around the networks. When you sit to watch that hilarious TV show, you note the network logo somewhere on the screens. Though they don’t actually operate their own television companies, they pay the affiliate stations to air what they have produced. As such, any film and TV finance will have to go through the network which will determine whether what you have is actually suitable for their target audience. They make their money through the advertising time and in turn, the revenues are used for upcoming film and TV finance. This is thus a cycle which includes adding new shows and dropping the older ones.

Another part of the film and TV finance group is the studios. These have been in control of movies and TV shows since the 1950s and they still are. The large amount of capital coming their way means they own subsidiaries and some even have their own networks. This means they can sponsor any script as long as it will return the cash and make a nice profit when it premiers. If a script writer has a really good idea, this is always the first place to land but you must have a reputable firm to take you through the complicated negotiations. Issues such as patent and copyright might be easy to read on paper but when it comes to money terms, you will realize you know nothing. Film and TV finance is not a gamble because the product will determine your future in the film industry hence the need to have a professional by your side.

There is another aspect of film and TV finance that is slowly gaining root and this is independent funding. This does not mean that you will chuck a few dollars from your savings. Film and TV finance is about billions of dollars and this might even be considered a low budget project. The funders include individual investors, foreign markets or even government organs that chip in either for some profit or to support a cause that a specific movie seeks to propagate. This branch of film and TV finance mostly targets low budget films because issues like distribution among other upfront costs really eat into the budgets. Whatever you do as a producer, always make sure you have an expert to take you through the whole spectrum of film and TV finance.

Mark Newman is the author of this article on Digital Media Solicitors. Find more information on Digital Content Solicitors here.