Business Case Studies & Business Publications

TV Business and Deal Mechanisms

Palomba, Anthony;S...

Technical Note

TV Business and Deal Mechanisms

Palomba, Anthony; Shaloudegi, Koushyar

S-0496 | Published August 17, 2026 | 9 Pages Technical Note

Collection: Darden School of Business

Product Details

This technical note provides an overview of the business and deal mechanisms that shape the television and video-streaming industries. It explains how television series are developed, financed, produced, distributed, and monetized, introducing such key concepts as packaging, deficit financing, cost-plus financing, coproduction, minimum episode orders, and back-end profit participation. Examples illustrate common deal structures and the calculation of a financial waterfall, including distribution fees, expenses, overhead, interest, modified adjusted gross receipts, and participant shares. The note also examines initial broadcast rights, content licensing, syndication, international distribution, and ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channel deals. By tracing the financial relationships among studios, television and streaming services, producers, showrunners, and other participants, the note provides a foundation for understanding how television content generates value throughout its life cycle. This note is an excellent companion to "CBS and the Strategic Script (A)" (UVA-BC-0327) and "CBS and the Strategic Script" (B) (UVA-BC-0328), providing background on the industry structures and deal mechanics that inform the issues explored in those cases.