SURVEY


PRODUCTION 100 DISTRIBUTOR POLL


distributor ratings


T


most used distributors


I


2= 2= 4


5= 5= 7= 7= 9


10


All3Media International Banijay Rights BBC Studios Fremantle Beyond Rights


ITV Studios Global Distribution Blue Ant International Abacus Media Rights Cineflix Rights Passion Distribution


highest rated distributors


I


2 3 4 5


6= 6= 6= 9


IO=


All3Media International BBC Studios Banijay Rights Abacus Media Rights


ITV Studios Global Distribution Cineflix Rights Fremantle Silverlining Banijay Rights


Blue Ant International; Bossanova; Hat Trick International


he distribution market has transformed in recent years, becoming much more complex for both indies


and distributors to navigate. Indies taking part in the


Production 100 cited more than 30 different distributors that they worked with. They are important partners for indies. Rights income is an important source of revenue for many indies. According to the Production 100, indies earned on average 11.3% of their annual total revenues from exploiting their programme rights. The majority of this income, 8.8%, comes from overseas sales, while 2.5% comes from selling programmes to secondary UK broadcasters.


Content scramble For these distributors, however, getting hold of good content to sell has become a lot harder in recent years.


Many producers are now part of large production groups – such as Banijay, Fremantle and All3Media - with inhouse distribution operations which have a first look at their projects. Some Production 100 indies also


have their own inhouse distribution divisions, such as Wag TV, Raw Cut, Off the Fence and Zig Zag. Independent producers, many


of whom are thriving on the back of the streaming boom, are also signing one-stop global deals with the platforms. Meanwhile, major US studio


Autumn 2022 P29 televisual.com


Producers reveal the distribution companies they like to work with and the ones they rate most highly


producers are holding back content for their own direct platforms. Adding to the challenges facing distributors is the fact that traditional broadcaster budgets are struggling to match those of the streamers. Funding at the BBC, for example, has been frozen for two years, which equates to major fall when inflation is taken into account.


It means producers are often left with deficits in their production budgets.


More than sales As a result, distributors have become important partners for indies, going above and beyond simply selling shows.


Distributors will help indies to


plug programme budget shortfalls by investing upfront in new shows and to find international co-production partners. For small and medium sized distributors in particular, which often have to provide large advances, this means more risk. Larger players are arguably better placed thanks to their deeper pockets and their ability to invest at an early stage in a project’s life. For those that can acquire rights to


programmes, there are more chances to sell than ever before. With the explosion in the number of platforms, the number of deal opportunities has increased many-fold for sellers to achieve global reach for their distribution. Opportunities have grown not just for front catalogue, but also mid and back catalogue content.


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