560 MEDIA TAKES ON DISCOVERY’S RIGHTS REVENUE COLLECTION
Fast-growing UK collection agency seals first major broadcaster deal
November 18th 2016
560 Media, the recently launched UK-based global rights collection agency, has signed a deal with Discovery Communications under which it will collect international revenues generated by the broadcaster’s secondary TV rights.
Discovery — the first major broadcast client for 560 Media — joins a roster of almost 40 producers and distributors, all of which have signed up to the agency since it launched in December 2015. In the last month alone, respected UK indie Hat Trick and distributor TCB Media Rights have opted for 560 Media’s bespoke systems for the registration, monitoring, collecting and dispersal of royalties.
560 Media was launched by former CEO and co-founder of Compact Collections John O’Sullivan, an acknowledged expert in his field of global secondary rights management. The company’s mission is to offer a client-focused, intelligence-based revenue-management service that is robust, flexible and intuitive enough to manage TV and film rights in a fragmented and increasingly complex marketplace.
The UK secondary television-rights market alone is worth an estimated £50m per annum. However, this lucrative income stream for TV and film content-owners often remains unpaid because of the specialist, labour-intensive work needed to track and claim payments for secondary royalties, such as retransmission, educational copying, private copying and rental and lending. 560 Media registers its clients’ IP with the 40 international collection agencies that exist across the world. Dedicated account management and secure, transparent systems and technology enable its clients to track, manage and collect the revenues due to them.
James Bryant, director of global music services at Discovery Communications, said: "During the past 18 months Discovery Communications has reinforced its focus on Secondary Rights management for our catalogue of high quality content which satisfies curiosity, entertains, and inspires viewers worldwide. 560 Media’s fresh and flexible approach to catalogue representation will assist Discovery in this specialist area, allowing us to maximise remuneration in the international arena."
560 Media founder and CEO John O’Sullivan added: “It wouldn’t be immodest to say that there isn’t another company that understands and manages the secondary TV-rights collection process as well as we do. We offer content-owners a forensic analysis of what’s owed to them from a service that is crucial in today’s super-competitive global content market, and where maximising earning power is no longer a luxury but essential for survival. The endorsement of a global mega-brand like Discovery is testament to what we’ve achieved in barely a year.’
About 560 Media (www.560media.com):
560 Media was founded in December 2015 by John O’Sullivan, who has 20 years of experience at the top of the global rights-collection business. The company now consists of a 10-strong team of intellectual-property experts, who together bring more than 100 years of copyright experience to the table.
560 Media’s personalised service, underwritten by powerful technology, maximises content-owners’ earning power by enabling them to register, monitor, collect and disperse royalties quickly, easily and cost effectively. The company’s suite of services includes secondary television rights management (including but not limited to retransmission rights, educational copying, private copying, rental and lending); audiovisual music management (including administering music-publishing rights, music supervision and composer services); and domestic and international catalogue exploitation.
For further information on 560 Media please contact:
Cheryl Clarke at Mushroom Media on:
Tel: +44 (0)7939554109
E: cheryl@mushroom-media.co.uk
