For all their quirks, the basic structure and business models of the television industry worked (and evolved) so well for decades because they did several things very right. They aligned the incentives of the various parties in the value chain, diversified the sources of revenue that powered the industry, balanced the allocation of risk and reward across the major players in content production and distribution, allowed for more variation in content and programming strategy among platforms, and offered producers multiple licensing models with varied risk/reward profiles that collectively allowed for a robust portfolio-based business.
The industry’s path forward from its present troubles requires rediscovering and adapting time-tested legal strategies and business models for the digital age. In this talk, adapted from the expanded and updated second edition of The Business of Television, author Ken Basin will discuss his list of eight classic strategies that can help entertainment attorneys thrive in today’s ever-challenging landscape.
Ken Basin is a long-time executive and thought leader in content licensing, development, and production management across senior executive roles at Paramount Television Studios, Sony Pictures Television, and Amazon Studios. Recognized by Variety as one of “Hollywood’s New Leaders” and by The Hollywood Reporter in its annual “35 Under 35” feature, Ken most recently worked at Riot Games, where he helped launch Riot’s in-house content studio and executive produced the second season of the Emmy Award-winning Arcane. Ken is also an adjunct professor at Harvard Law School, as well as the author of The Business of Television, the leading reference guide about the television and streaming business for working and aspiring industry professionals, whose second edition was published in September 2024.
Ken Basin, Author of the book The Business of Television. Purchase the 2nd edition with a special 25% discount code (BusofTel24) for BHBA members.
