Upfronts Case Study: Lionsgate TV’s Unlikely Success Story Amid Tough 2022 Broadcast Renewal Negotiations
deadline.comEver since the demise of indie powerhouse Carsey-Werner, there has been no studio focused on broadcast comedy series. Surprisingly, another indie, Lionsgate Television, has found itself carrying the C-W mantle.
In a tough economic environment, Lionsgate managed to go 3-for-3 with its existing broadcast series — CBS’ Ghosts, ABC’s Home Economics and Fox’s Welcome To Flatch — all of which were renewed for next season.
All of them are single-camera comedies — a genre whose financials have become partially challenging under the increasingly fragile broadcast model — and the tally, three, matches the bulk of Lionsgate’s entire previous broadcast haul of Fox’s Running Wilde, ABC’s Nashville and NBC’s Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.The pickups cap an impressive streak of 16 renewals for 15 shows and no cancellations for Lionsgate series across various platforms that started in July 2021.
And while Lionsgate just reported a quarterly earnings miss, the company’s TV Production unit posted a revenue growth of 75.7% to $370.2 million, with profit up 263.7% to $33.1 million compared to the prior year quarter.Lionsgate TV’s broadcast slate is led by one of the biggest half-hour hits on television, Ghosts, the most watched new comedy of this season and the second most watched broadcast comedy series overall.
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