Subsequent use advance: agents will expect an SUA that accords with the Pact Agreement or, where that does not apply, an SUA that follows established custom and practice in the indie sector.
Repeats, residuals & royalties: after the SUA has been used up, they will expect contingent remuneration that accords with the Pact Agreement.
Showrunners
In my view, we in the UK are gradually moving towards the showrunner model favoured by the US and the ‘streaming wars’ will accelerate this trend and create even more competition for the services of the A-list writer.
In turn, this will strengthen the negotiating position of the A-list agents and, although the showrunner model won’t be created in the UK overnight, there are already more writers in the marketplace who see themselves as writer-producers while, at the same time, the current appetite for original drama shows little sign of abating.
Commercially, this will all play out in the negotiation of script and format agreements in the indie sector and the negotiator of those contracts will play a large part in achieving the deals that producers need to achieve in order to survive and thrive.