Salient Contracts Provisions for Televising Live Broadcasted
Any event that is live broadcasted on television must obtain rights and permissions. Regardless of the event: a play, sporting event, ballet, concert whoever is the owner of the event or performing in the event must agree to salient provisions of a contract. Producers of the event could be either the venue hosting an event, a for-profit entity or a non-profit entity.
Editing
A producer and the sponsor (owner) of the event might have conflicting interests. The editing process of a live performance is often a moment of discord. Producers often want creative control and unrestricted say over editing. When original contracts are created, producers often want flexibility to change, supplement or rearrange the live performance. Sponsors want to ensure the broadcast authentically reflects the event. Sponsors often want to limit outside materials embedded within the program. It is the Sponsor’s Council responsibility to negotiate and make sure that producers don’t use the live performance in other programs without providing due credit.
Compensation Factors
No figure is set for compensation. There are factors that help influence the figure:
- The size of the event
- The popularity of the event / performers at the event
- The media exposure
- Assistant / equipment provided
- Costs to producers
The question of talent payment is also a huge salient point that should be negotiated from the beginning. Some points that should be considered
- Should all talent be paid?
- Should only talent videotaped be paid?
Payment to other cast and crew such as make-up artists, designers, lighting crew, stagehands, electricians and personnel, among others should also be agreed upon before taping.
Pay or Play
Producers can never guarantee that a performance to be broadcast live, while a sponsor wants to ensure that the producer pays under the contract regardless if the broadcast is live or not.
Pay or play, protects both producer and sponsor.
Ownership
Ownership and control is an intractable issue. The producer ultimately assigns control over the ownership of the program. Television programs are rarely jointly or co-owned. Whatever the television coverage is, ownership and copyright should be separately negotiated. Bargaining agreements for talent could require more payments after the live performance.
