TV’s New Development Money: Brands

As any good creative knows, coming up with a brilliant idea is one thing, but finding the money to make that brilliant idea come to life is entirely another, particularly in this cash-strapped environment that’s stingy with development deals and even stingier with budgets. Likewise, consumer brands looking to hawk their wares know that viewer attention spans — worn down by social media, skippable ads and years of commercial-free streaming — are fleeting. 

Now, there’s a solution that’s gaining steam: brand-supported scripted TV. As recently as last fall, when I reported on a new surge in brand-funded entertainment, it was a space primarily inhabited by nonscripted content — i.e. documentaries, competition shows and sports programs, which have welcomed money from companies like Ally Bank or Marks & Spencer. 

But amid continuing contraction across the industry — and the threat of more with the Paramount-Warner Bros Discovery merger looming, despite new legal challenges, including to the temporary restraining order granted on the deal this morning — there’s a vibe shift. More scripted series are engaging with brands at the development stage — a “delightfully surprising” evolution in the space, Sugar23 president Matt Rotondo tells me. 

The audio equipment giant Bose, for instance, announced in June that it was launching its own entertainment studio. In partnership with Sugar23, it’ll kick off its TV and film slate with a Steven Soderbergh-directed docuseries that promises to “examine the intersection of creativity, innovation and artistic expression,” according to Deadline. 

“It just goes to show you the caliber of attention and interest” in brand-funded projects, says Rotondo, who notes that Sugar23 has a second title in the works with Bose. After all, Soderbergh — known for Ocean’s 11, Erin Brockovich and Sex, Lies, and Videotape — has “always been at the forefront of pushing technologies and abilities that allow him to maximize his creativity,” Rotondo adds.

Today, Rotondo, CAA’s Margo Plotkin and producer Tommy Harper (Top Gun: Maverick, the Mission: Impossible franchise) outline how sought-after creatives are changing the space as whatever whiff of selling out that used to trail shows funded by consumer brands has long since been deodorized in this era of austerity.

I’ll give you the scoop on:

• How Sugar23 and CAA matchmake original pitches with brands without turning them into commercials
• How brands move into scripted projects even before the script is written — and what they contribute beyond money
• The wins for creatives: “fair-market rates,” paid development and brands willing to invest money and time
• What kinds of scripted stories are in the sweet spot for brands
• Which streamers and distributors are buying brand-backed shows — and what happens after development is funded
• The vertical drama “unlock” for brand storytelling