We have been speaking to a few distribution companies over the last 2 weeks re our children's TV animation series Snapatoonies. In the offers we receive they are seeking 35% plus expenses. I am not from this industry however I have run several businesses prior to this and I have never paid 35-40% of my gross income to my sales person/team or even division. Is this the standard rate? I have to say that for those kind of figures I am inclined to either do the selling myself or hire a sales person for a small retainer and a percentage of the sale. My main issue is that I want to reward my team. We are self-funded and have run super tight budgets for 2 years and I feel my team deserve the big pay out bonuses for the long hours and hard work. Seriously the distributors seem like nice people – but my team have put in 110% in this project for 2 years and I want to look after them. Is anyone else selling there own TV animation directly to the networks? Hiring in house sales teams to market their products Finding reasonably priced, good quality distribution? Would welcome input and ideas. Much appreciated. Lee Brighton www.snapatoonies.com www.jordle.com
Distribution : Distribution - costs vs DIY by Lee Brighton
Other topics in Distribution:
Check out Trending Discussions
Register / Log In
Hi Lee, are you trying to distribute this series in North America or Australia? (or somewhere else?). It sounds like all your episodes are completed, is that right? I work for a TV production company that sells shows directly to networks, but they're not completed series and the networks pay the cost of production or share it with an international distributor under a co-production deal. I have a buddy that has a successful synidication business and deals with a lot of completed shows and I'd be happy to help make sure you're on the right track, but I need a little more info. Feel free to e-mail me at mrmattmorrison@gmail.com. Cheers.
Hi Matt, Yes we have Series 1 complete 13x23mins and we are midway through Series 2 production. We are looking for distribution in USA and Canada with our Nth American version - see sample of first 8 shows http://youtu.be/vPA38N1FpUA. This is the USA version - note spelling of color (USA) vs colour (Canada(, pronunciation of "Zee" (USA) vs :Zdd) etc. We have also revoiced in Australian accents along with spelling, pronunciation eg Zebra which we would like to distribute in Australia, New Zealand and possibly UK and Sth Africa. Sample available next week. Both are available for sale on DVD through Amazon etc but we need them screen on TV to really reach big audience numbers. We also see potential for global distribution for use in both ESL situations and we will localize the voice for buying countries such as Spanish for Sth American networks, French for Canada, Chinese, Korean and Japanese etc. Thanks for your offer for help – we are most grateful. I shall contact you directly by email – but felt it worth noting answers here as it may assist other people also looking for distribution of finished products. Sincere thanks Matt Lee lee@snapatoonies.com www.snapatoonies.com
Hey Lee, thanks for providing the additional info. Let me check with a couple of contacts about the 30-40% gross, etc. I'll reply asap.
1 person likes this
Typical Tv distribution fees are 30-35% - this is standard. TV distribution is not easy and the reason you pay commission to a TV distributor is because they have the contacts to place it with international TV stations. These TV stations don't buy from anyone - they buy from familiar faces who they already have relationships with. Production companies who sell directly to international TV stations usually have their own dedicated sales agents working in house and are producing a ton of hours every year. If you are not in that position then I would go back to one of these companies and continue to the conversation.
Elisar is right on. It is very difficult to self-distribute, especially if you only have one or two programs. Program directors look at a calendar and see a 13-week block to fill, not a one-shot deal. 35% is not that great a cost for what they do - but it is 35% plus expenses. Many distributors who work with small producers take it all by charging back bogus fees, over charging on services, and cross-collateralization of projects. To some extent, the producers open the door for these vampires by not having a finished script, a dialogue script, tons of production photos, and other tools the distributor needs to market the film. And there is so much more to say after in the trenches...
1 person likes this
Thank-you all for your comments and suggestions. They have been much appreciated. We are thrilled to announce that we have found and signed with a distribution company - based in London. As it turns out.... we ended up with 5 companies wanting our show to add to their catalog so we are very grateful for all the interest. I wish each of you success an again thank-you for stepping in with suggestions and thoughts. sincere thanks Lee
i was curious about how your project is going?
Hi Lee, Kaleigh Group Entertainment is now accepting films for distribution. We have traditional and Out of the Box distribution channels. We get paid commission, so there are NO up front fees. I would like to discuss this with you. Contact me if you are interested.