Tomorrow is Yesterday… A TV-Biz Overview: Historically, production companies licensed series made for one distributor (i.e., networks: ABC/CBS/NBC) to other distributors (i.e., local stations) in a system called syndication. At least 80 episodes were needed to make syndication-economics work.
This “ancillary” income made studios money, and — from the 1960s/70s on, with the advent of broad-based residuals — was how most writers, actors & directors maintained middle-class lives. Series that aired a *lot* in syndication, all from Desilu (later acquired by Paramount): “I Love Lucy,” “Star Trek” & “Mission: Impossible.”
Since widely watched shows of the 50s/60s were produced prior to those residuals, their syndicated boons accrued to production companies, allowing some cash to go into new shows. However, we should note that the pioneering writers, actors & directors of “I Love Lucy” & Classic “Trek” didn’t share in the ‘70s money-spigot, while Paramount was awash. Anyway, in theory, ancillary income from series like “Cheers” & the original “Frasier” (both produced by Paramount for NBC) could help make “niche” shows like “Fellow Travelers” (Paramount+) possible — providing work for today’s writers, actors, directors & crews (who also benefit from syndication, though differently than WGA, SAG-AFTRA & DGA).
Circulating syndie-money became a system-feature, making licensing libraries a solid business, even when shows air on competitors’ services. What appears to be competition, can be mutual support.
Again historically, from the mid-80s on (when Financial Interest & Syndication Rules ended), studios often licensed series to competitors. E.g., Columbia Pictures TV made “Married with Children” (1987-1997) for the nascent Fox network. Fox gave a negotiated license-fee to Columbia to produce eps for initial broadcasts, and Fox got all the ad-revenue when the show first aired. Columbia may have deficit-financed some overages that weren’t covered by Fox’s fees, especially in later, more expensive seasons, but Columbia banked all the syndication-licensing fees — minus residuals.
This business model was highly functional, though disruption by the ever-evolving streaming model is taking the entire biz on quite a ride!
Now, with the licensing of extant shows gaining momentum, some of TV’s best series will find new viewers. This is in addition to newer shows people just might’ve missed — e.g., “Suits” (produced by Universal for “sister” cabler USA), though I’d add “Hill Street Blues” (MTM/NBC), “China Beach” (Warner/ABC) & “thirtysomething” (MGM/ABC) to any TV-lovers “must watch” list.
So many awesome shows are out there. Getting them onto screens can be a win-win — for everyone — with some smart visibility-support (a la “Suits”). Note: the narrative-styles of older shows are… different than streaming series, but that’s a whole ‘nother TV-Biz History. Thanks for reading this one!
#entertainment #tv #television #streaming #syndication #residuals #netflix
