For Broadcast April 29, 2010

FiveFWD avoids rights squabbles and makes money for both parties, writes Kate Bulkley.

This is the season of big politics and at the moment it looks like we could get a hung parliament in which no party dominates - which suggests deals will have to be struck to get things done.

But if the art of compromise can be dangerous in politics - see the backlash against Gordon Brown’s recurring “I agree with Nick” refrain after the first TV debate - there might be more potential in the broadcasting world.

It might not look promising at first, with the terms of trade, which allowed indies to build up rights and grow, highlighting the lines that continue to divide producers and broadcasters.

But while fighting over budgets and rights is a familiar story, what is less familiar is what one cashstrapped broadcaster is doing with a producer to try to change the game, at least on the digital front.

The FiveFWD website is the most successful of Five’s content “verticals”, meaning it is bigger and attracts more traffic and more advertising than the broadcaster’s sites dedicated to soaps, gaming or kids.

Given that FiveFWD supports two of Five’s biggest original shows, The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear, this should be no surprise.

What might be a surprise is that the FiveFWD website is a 50/50 joint venture with producer North One, part of All3Media, and has been since its launch more than a year ago. The deal was hatched to make the site better - and profitable - from day one.

What North One and Five realised is that rather than fight over who had which rights in what window, it would be better to put all their digital rights together in one basket. Not only does the catch-up service and other bespoke video content sit on one server, but it is monetised from one place as well. Five sells the ads and there are joined-up sponsorship deals for The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear for both online and offline.

The deal also means that all the clever stuff like Facebook pages and YouTube channels can be done once, and together.

The joint venture basically allows North One and Five to dodge the terms of trade because it serves them both to do so. Better to build one big online presence than be restricted by who gets to do what, when. Given that producers and broadcasters spend a lot of time beating each other up over rights, this approach seems a solid solution.

Speaking of compromise, last month both The Gadget Show and Fifth Gear were recommissioned for TV, and both are being produced not just for Five.

The Gadget Show is getting some of its budget from UKTV in return for secondary rights, and Fifth Gear’s new commission comes after a major injection of cash from Discovery UK, also in return for secondary rights.

At the time, North One boss Neil Duncanson said the deals were “a compromise to keep the brands moving and developing”. It sounds as if he could teach the politicians a thing or two.