The Business
TV Package Fees: A Boon for Agencies, a Bummer for Others
If you came up with a hit TV show, would you want your agent to make more money than you? According to agent-turned-producer Gavin Polone, that's exactly what can happen thanks to what's known as the TV package fee. Polone and writer-producer Rob Long help us examine the long-standing system of fees.
By Kim Masters • • 29m ListenGavin Polone used to be an agent. Now he's a producer, so he knows the ins and outs of the mysterious world of TV package fees. In decades gone by, agencies were rewarded for bringing together different elements of a TV show--combining writers, producers and actors on a project that they would take to a studio and a network. Today, agencies demand a package fee even if they had nothing to do with assembling those elements. Polone and veteran TV writer-producer Rob Long explain how these fees work and why no one resists paying them.
Photo: Gavin Polone
In this episode
2 storiesHollywood News Banter
TV Guide magazine chief content officer Michael Schneider joins Kim Masters to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.
Read the story9 minTV Package Fees
Gavin Polone was an agent before becoming the producer of TV shows including The Gilmore Girls and Jane by Design, so he knows a few things about the agency business.
Read the story19 min
