Broadcast and Streaming

CMS has a market-leading practice in broadcasting and streaming. We have advised on some of the leading deals in this area. Our team are experts in carriage and platform negotiations, media regulation, EPG rules and agreements, content acquisition and commissioning and broadcast infrastructure contracts. As the landscape continues to evolve, these deals have become increasingly complex.

We have witnessed first-hand the major structural changes within the film and television sector. These have included changing consumption habits (particularly for younger viewers), the launch and growth of new services, the shift from traditional broadcast television models to direct-to-consumer streaming services, the increasing cost of talent and lack of skilled production personnel, the demand for studio space and facilities and the need for media companies to scale and collaborate with their competitors in order to respond to these changes. 

In particular we have seen:

• Consolidation and collaboration: The increasingly mixed ecology of the TV world has led to unprecedented levels of competition, which in turn has resulted in increased consolidation and collaboration between competitors. 
• D2C: Accelerated by COVID-19, the propensity for content producers to develop their own direct-to-consumer offerings has only increased. Post-pandemic and against an uncertain economic backdrop, we are now seeing that market start to mature, with the focus shifting from prioritising subscriber acquisition to demonstrating profitability and a growth in ad-funded online viewing models. 
• Competition for creative talent: The battle for audience figures and the deep pockets of the US streaming service players led to record levels of commissioning and fierce competition for producers, writers and on-screen talent. Over the years, we have acted for numerous high-profile producing talent and executives on setting up new production companies to capitalise on this demand. 

Highlights of our recent experience:

• The joint venture partnership between Comcast and Paramount on the launch of its subscription video-on-demand service, SkyShowtime, including the key building blocks for the service. These included film and TV output deals with NBCUniversal and Paramount as well as consumer, data, regulatory and technology matters across the 22 European markets where this service will operate.
• Paramount Global on the launch of its premium streaming service Paramount+ in multiple territories in Europe, including on key distribution partnerships with Sky across the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria and other distributors.
• The launch of Britbox, the strategic joint venture between the BBC and ITV in the UK and in other markets.
• News Corp on the set up of its news channel TalkTV. We advised on its talent partnership with Piers Morgan across TV, newspapers and books as well as set and studio arrangements.
• ITV on its strategic deal to exclusively license an adtech platform from Amobee for the purchase and sale of targeted premium video inventory.