Do you have original content that needs a home for non-exclusive distribution?
Possibly a pilot or a short?
Maybe experimental video art or a digital series?
Open Television pays licensing fees for content to be distributed through a number of different programs and initiatives, with and without perpetuity. OTV believes distribution opportunities should be open and interdisciplinary art should be celebrated. As a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, Open Television uses its platform to cultivate a sustainable pipeline to the arts and entertainment industries — to enhance the indie filmmaking ecosystem with opportunities for exhibition, education and community. Not every artist's journey is the same but there is space for all of it to be exhibited and celebrated through equitable distribution and global community engagement.
To DISTRIBUTE with OTV, your project must include the following:
An intersectional lens: as coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, Intersectionality is a framework that understands how different aspects of a person’s social and political identity contribute to unique forms of discrimination and privilege. OTV champion intersectional stories and storytellers that are often not prioritized in media which includes but is not limited to gender, caste, sex, race, class, sexuality, religion, disability, physical appearance, and height.
The appropriate rights to the story and content [meaning, this is your story - you have the rights to the music and imagery].
You will retain 100% rights to your shows through OTV Distribution.
If your project aligns with the eligibility requirements listed above please follow button below to SUBMIT your ALREADY COMPLETED OR IN POST-PRODUCTION WORK to be considered for EXHIBITION on the OTV APP.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
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No.
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Yes.
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It depends on the current year's slate budget, duration of content and exhibition strategy. If you have decided to pass on the license offer + agreement, and return a following year wanting to accept the same offer - you may not receive the same offer due to the years slate budget. Email Development@weareo.tv, if you have questions regarding your offer.
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Sure thing. HERE is a step-by-step explanation walkthrough video of our Terms.
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You are still free to upload, screen, distribute or sell it to any other entity.
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Our contract will not expire until one of the parties [signing artist and OTV] requests for a termination of contract.
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We used to offer 3-year contracts, but this burdens our non-profit with an extremely small staff with administrative work. The reality is many creators end up not seeing much monetary ROI in their web series due to the indie nature. We want to avoid having to take down projects because artists are too busy creating their next best work to re-sign while reducing our legal fees for negotiating said renewals.
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Standard Terms + Conditions’ are on the bottom of the submission page (within submittable) - It's the check box.
For easy access: “Terms and Conditions: *By submitting your project to OTV-Open Television LLC, you agree to the following terms and conditions: Filmmakers must submit their media files as downloadable URL links - 1080P or higher resolution. Do not send your master tape or original. Submission of film constitutes your affirmation that it does not violate any copyright. ’The film(s) may be produced anywhere in the world. Artist hereby grants OTV - Open Television the right to utilize footage, BTS, stills, biographical material, names and likenesses from the film for promotional purposes and in the distribution program. OTV Open Television shall not be held liable for inadvertent errors or omissions as it relates to the submitted work. OTV Open Television and Artist reserves the right to cancel any film releases and remove content.”
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This is for online social marketing assets, drop trailers (where multiple films are in 1 trailer), app assets (banners, thumb nails), social media promo (instagram post) etc. This clause is in there *only* for marketing purposes and you will receive the marketing assets to share when its been created as well.
Why: Based upon the number of artists and projects we onboard and market - there tends to be a large bottle neck with late responses for approvals which affects our timelines and the artists launch experience. It keeps the process moving and you will receive the assets as well.
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No problem. You own all the rights to your project and we would be happy to remove it from any channels as you see fit. We can terminate the agreement and pull assets from the app with 14 days, if requested by the artist. You would do this by emailing Development@weareo.tv
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We can terminate the agreement and pull assets from the app with 14 days, if requested by the artist. You would do this by emailing Development@weareo.tv.
Why: We (historically) do not renegotiate a submitted films license fee once its been onboarded because we pay a one time licensee fee and due to capacity.
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Yes, if the artist consents to having their show across a number of platforms. We want to reserve the right to syndicate your show to other platforms. You will be notified every time we syndicate your show and the value of that deal. Any value we get from redistributing your series could be considered a tax-deductible donation to OTV by you. You will have the right to say no to any syndication deal we propose and negotiate directly with our buyer.
Why? Based on surveys of artists in 2020, most of our artists want us to do the work of finding audiences for your series beyond OTV. Indeed, over the years, other distributors have consistently asked us to distribute your content, but since this was not in our contracts, we had to step aside and connect artists directly to these distributors. What we found is that neither OTV artists nor the other distributors -- which tend to be indie like OTV -- had the capacity or interest in negotiating a deal because nearly all of these deals do not pay or pay very little. The goal is exposure. However, if we start to make six-figures or more in syndication you will be notified and allowed to renegotiate your contract at that very time (because you can always take down your show at any time for any reason).
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Yes. OTV has options for videos on demand including but not limited to, a one-time public livestream via OTV app (free) or PAY-PER-VIEW (paid) via the OTV APP.
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Submit your pitch to OTVLIVE, Have questions? Reach out to community@weareo.tv (Head of Marketing + Exhibition)
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Absolutely. If you have a specific vision for distribution terms or length we are able to customize our contract to reflect what the artist feels most confident with.
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Submit a request for update through this portal.
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We totally understand it can feel daunting at times, here are some resources to help.
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OTV - Open Television offers a number of development opportunities within its programming. OTV programs for exhibitions are expanding year by year. As of 2023, our current artist development offerings include: -
Please visit the following resources:
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DEVELOPMENT [at] weareo.tv
