WHAT ARE SOME INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS? (In the Entertainment industry.)

Film Distribution / Photo Credit: Simon Dendere - Slide Player

WHAT ARE SOME INDIE FILM DISTRIBUTION RIGHTS? (In the Entertainment industry.)  

Bruce Bisbey…please follow me at: https://dumbdogproductions.com/

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What are some Indie Film Distribution Rights?

Distribution deals tend to confuse and confound many filmmakers. While there are a lot of complicated places that revenue can get lost, the essence of distribution deals is quite simple. They’re essentially just parsing of different media rights to various territories around the world. However, given the Black Box that is the world film distribution, it’s often unclear how these rights get structured. So, with that, I thought it prudent to share some of the structure of these deals. 

There are many new distribution options for the independent producer. The old media includes theatrical, broadcast/cable, home video; new media’s alphabet soup includes TVOD, SVOD, AVOD, EST, PPV, streaming and nontraditional theatrical. As new distribution channels develop, new distribution companies emerge. But not all distributors are effective in all mediums and markets. Just as you would not expect Netflix or Vimeo to release your work theatrically (Netflix’s recent self-originated productions to the contrary), you would not expect Gathr and Tugg to broadcast or cablecast your work. As a consequence of all these new distribution channels and the splitting up of rights in the works among multiple distributors, distribution contracts have changed and evolved.

Generally, these rights are broken up both by territory and by type.   This post is by type, there will be a future post based on territory. Generally, you’ll need a very skilled Producer's Rep or a sales agent to sell these territories for you.

Distributors who are currently acquiring and releasing independent films and asked them a series of questions:

• How long has your company been in business? HISTORY
• How many titles do you acquire a year? TITLES PER YEAR
• Of these titles, can you break down (even if a rough estimate) how many are theatrical vs how many are just digital? TYPES OF RELEASES
• Do you take all rights? All territories? RIGHTS
• Would you be willing to share a rough range for term length your contracts i.e. 1-5 years, 10-15 years. TERM
• What do you look for when acquiring titles? WHAT WE’RE LOOKING FOR
• How important is having name cast? CAST
• Do existing social media numbers impact your decision? SOCIAL MEDIA
• What festivals do you attend and consider strong markets for acquiring films? FESTIVALS
• How many employees do you have? EMPLOYEES
• How should filmmakers approach you? Do you take unsolicited submissions or do you only work with sales agents? SUBMISSIONS 

Types of Distribution 

• Full Theatrical Release
• Limited Theatrical - available for select films
• Cable - Time Warner, Comcast, DirectTV, Dish
• UHD/4K - Roku, MGo, Samsung, LG and other Smart TVs
• Retail DVD/BluRay - Walmart, Target, Barnes & Noble, Best Buy, FYE, Amazon and many other Online retailers
• PVOD (Paid Transactional) - iTunes, Vudu, PlayStation, Xbox, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, FandangoNow, Hoopla, Vimeo
• SVOD (Subscription) - Amazon Prime, Hulu Plus, YouTube Red, ConTV, Dove, Netflix (for films with names)
• AVOD (Ad-supported) - Hulu, TubiTV, Docudrama
• International Sales 

Type 1: Theatrical

This should be fairly clear. Theatrical rights are for the rights to release in theaters.   Again, this is usually done by territory. Producer’s Reps may help with this domestically, but you will generally need a sales agent to sell it internationally. You’ll also need a genre film with some good cast to get this out there.  

Type 2: Home Video/DVD/Blu-Ray

Believe it or not, there is still a market for DVD and Blu-ray. A lot of it is international, but there are still major retailers like Wal-Mart, target, and occasionally Redbox.   These are as they sound, and are most often sold to a sales agent who then sells them to wholesalers. There are also outlets that can help you self-distribute those rights; Ingram Entertainment will even allow you to sell to stores.

Type 3. PayTV

Pay TV is essentially Premium TV. These are places like HBO, Starz, Showtime, etc. These deals are generally exclusive, and will often also include an SVOD license.   This is so that the network can include the offering on their associated SVOD platforms and extensions.

For instance, this allows HBO to put the content on HBO Go and HBO NOW. It also allows Starz to use the content on their Amazon extension and Showtime to show your work on Hulu.  Starz also has Starz Play, which is their answer to HBO Now.  It will be interesting to see where PayTV goes in the future.

Type 4. Cable/Network TV

As it would sound, Cable TV is for non-PayTV rights, and Network is for the major “Over the air” networks. These would be ABC, NBC, Fox, and CBS.   Cable TV channels are very similar to Network TV but are more restricted in terms of content. That said, they are still often subject to some degree of censorship in the case of R- Rated movies, and are slightly less likely to seek SVOD rights, although many of them will still take that right.

Type 5. VOD

VOD stands for Video on Demand. There’s more than one type of Video on Demand Service, and each type has different providers.   Here’s a very brief outline of what the different types of VOD are, and some samples as to the people who provide that service.

-PPVOD/TVOD

This stands for Pay Per Video on Demand, it's also known as TVOD, or Transactional VOD. This has largely replaced Pay Per View television rights and is generally the most accessible form of VOD. There are many platforms for PPVOD. I believe the most obvious would be iTunes, Google Play, Amazon/Createspace, and Vimeo On Demand.

However, that said, my favorite by far is VHX.   I personally recommend them to all of my clients, and I use it myself for Producer Foundry They offer all the functionality of Vimeo on Demand, in a much more streamlined way with fewer fees and few caps.   With VHX, you can even create your own SVOD network to grow your audience. Check them out here. 

-SVOD

Subscription Video on Demand – [SVOD] is for VOD platforms that run on a subscription basis. This would be platforms like Netflix, Hulu Plus, Fandor, as well as extensions of PayTV and regular TV channels as mentioned above. 

-ESP/Ancillary VOD

These are primarily independent ancillary VOD platforms. Ever order a film on the back of your seat on Virgin America or Atlantic? You just took part in an ESPVOD platform.  Hotel Rights would also be considered under ancillary VOD rights. 

Cable TV Producers often have their own PPVOD channels.   These would be the ways that people could order a movie straight from your DirectTV or Xfinity TV platform.   Generally, these would also be considered ESPVOD rights. 

That said, sometimes there is some contention on these rights. Sometimes they’ll just be included in PPVOD rights, it’s important to clarify.

References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, WikiBooks, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, History Channel, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, Careers Hub, The Numbers, Film Maker, Film Site, TV Guide Magazine, Blurb, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Chron, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, WGA, BBC, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Studio Binder, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Truity, Production Hub, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Variety, Wolf Crow, Get In Media, Production Beast, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, UCAS, Frankenbite, Realty 101, Careers Hub, Screen Play Scripts, Elements of Cinema, Script Doctor, ASCAP, Film Independent, Any Possibility, CTLsites, NYFA, Future Learn, VOM Productions, Mad Studios, Rewire, DP School, Film Reference, DGA, IATSE, ASC, MPAA, HFPA, MPSE, CDG, AFI, Box Office Mojo, Rotten Tomatoes, Indie Film Hustle, The Numbers, Netflix, Vimeo, Instagram, Pinterest, Metacritic, Hulu, Reddit, NATO, Mental Floss, Slate, Locations Hub, Film Industry Statistics, Guinness World Records, The Audiopedia, Imagination for People, Literary Devices, Start Up Film Maker, On Post Modernism, The Guerrilla Rep Media, Indie Film Distribution

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Film Distribution / Photo Credit: Simon Dendere - Slide Player