Out-Of-House Digital Rights: Still Tricky For TV

We have mentioned this on and off over the last few month, and this story elaborates on it a bit…if a TV show is owned by another producer/studio outside of the network it is on, digital rights becomes a huge issue. An example: while NBC is promoting “The Office” heavily on its digital platforms, another NBC hit sitcom “My Name Is Earl” remains virtually absent on digital platforms. In fact, Dana Walden, president of 20th Century Fox TV, which produces Earl, said there are no plans to exploit Earl’s digital potential at this point. Wow…
There have been some attempts to bridge the gap. Earlier this season, iTunes began offering Scrubs, following an agreement between NBC and Disney-owned Touchstone, which produces the series. But that was a short-time deal…for now, in-house deals are the way to go.