QUESTION FOR FILMTVLAW.COM:
Hey there. I read that television pitching season starts this week. I’ve got 9 projects ready to go. Can you help me pick which one is the best to start out with? Do I need to worry about pitching season anyway because my scripts are better for Netflix?
ANSWER BY BRANDON BLAKE, ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER:
Thanks for a great question about pitching season. For the Networks, the third week of May is the official start of pitching season, and that is because the Upfronts are over and now network execs are ready to start looking for projects to develop for next year. Due to the disruptions of last year, 2021 is the first year since 2019 with a full Upfront event. In addition to this article, I share more than a hundred in depth entertainment industry articles on my website at www.filmtvlaw.com/entertainment-lawyer-qa. Please also check out my bio at www.imdb.me/brandonblake.
The 2021 Television Pitching Season
So, does any of that matter in an era of year-round streaming and series that are picked up for multiple seasons on Netflix within the same year? Although I don’t think there is any one best moment to pitch a television series now days, anyone who dismisses broadcast networks and cable linear television is making a big mistake. Seventy-five percent of television series revenue still comes through broadcast and cable, and many streaming hits have started out as broadcast and cable series.
As many series as Netflix and Amazon produce, collectively a lot more series are developed and produced by the Networks, pay and free cable, so dismissing this major part of the television industry does not make sense to me. When television producers broaden the number of places to pitch a series, the success rate increases exponentially. One of the things we can help experienced television showrunners and executive producers with is to get a potential series to a lot more places than most producers can access through their own contacts. There is not a major network, streamer or television studio that is not currently reading one of our client’s scripts, and many have more than one.
What’s Hot in Scripted Television for 2021
While I must reserve my knowledge of network and streamer mandates and detailed knowledge about current television industry audiences and demographics for clients, I can provide two general areas of interest right now at streamers and Networks. According to conversations I have had with many network, studio and production company executives, this season is all about dramatic comedies and light, funny dramas.
I am aware of the fact that both of those are inherent contradictions according to usual television genres, and yet that is where the demand is right now. I break that down with details for clients and strategize how to take advantage of this new direction by networks and streamers without creating a mess of traditional formats and series genres.
What’s Hot in Reality Television for 2021
While reality television has been primarily a year-round business for quite some time, it still makes sense to pay attention to the Upfronts and the advertising cycle when pitching reality television.
The reality of reality television right now is that consolidation is causing some demand problems. Discovery is just getting huge and becoming the Netflix of reality television. That is great for our clients, because I have strong contacts with Discovery. However, it is also creating a situation where Discovery has ended up with way too much of some subject matter and genres, and not enough in other places. Added on top of that is the Warner Media deal and reality is going to be complicated for the next year or so.
Industry wide, reality television is facing the same kind of over supply that the feature film industry faced for a long time. That is causing extremely focused demand areas at all of the reality networks, streamers and production companies, where things like talent are commanding a premium, and certain reality niches are driving demand, while some old staples in the reality business are over supplied.
Streaming, AVOD and Beyond
Streaming is starting to look a lot more like network and broadcast as AVOD begins to take hold. AVOD means “advertising-based video on demand.” From what I have been told, major advertisers have been looking for places to spend their money, and a lot of top shows are at subscription services. It was only a matter of time before this major capital got it’s wish, and now it seems almost every streamer either has an ad supported tier or is testing ad supported content.
This would seem to undermine one of the principal reasons that streaming flourished originally, which was audiences fleeing from ad interruptions on broadcast and free cable. However, the promise of either free or reduced-price streaming seems to be appealing to viewers, and that is why this year AVOD is being built into the Upfronts of many of the major Networks that own or partner with a streaming platform.
All of this means that right now is an ideal time to start getting new series out to networks, television studios and major production companies. Please contact my firm if you would like help tailoring a series project to current network demands, or if you would like to broaden your production options and get a series to more potential networks and streamers.
As with all complex entertainment matters, please seek experienced entertainment legal counsel before making legal and financial decisions. This article is for informational purposes only and does not represent legal, accounting or tax advice. Do not act on this article without hiring legal representation.
- By Brandon Blake, Entertainment Lawyer