Job Description
Based in our London offices, this role will join SPT’s International Production team in London providing business affairs support for the SPT International production group (SPTIP). In this position, you will have specific responsibility for business affairs for the distribution and exploitation of SPTIP scripted and unscripted formats including Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? and Dragons Den into worldwide territories with a focus on the EMEA region and will work closely with internal teams in Sales, global SPTIP Business Affairs, Legal, Finance, Production Consultancy, Asset Management, SPTIP production entities, brands, producers, and broadcasters worldwide.
What you will do:
The management and coordination of a wide variety of business affairs activities in the EMEA region, including:
- negotiating, reviewing, and drafting a wide variety of agreements in respect of SPT International Production’s exploitation of unscripted and scripted formats including format acquisition, option and license agreements, co-development and co-production deals, and technical supplier agreements and consultancy deals
- negotiating, reviewing, and drafting agreements with the appropriate Sony divisions with respect to ancillary rights exploitation based on formats from the SPT International Production catalog including event license agreements, consumer product and merchandising, and interactive product license agreements
- advising the sales and other commercial teams in respect of the above
The role also has the potential to expand to providing business affairs support for production matters for assigned UK and Irish television productions, including reviewing and drafting a wide variety of agreements for the development and program production agreements with broadcasters, writers, and talent.
What You Need:
- Good solid understanding and experience of drafting and negotiating television format distribution licensing and option agreements including merchandising, publishing, and music licensing, across multiple forms of media including cable, satellite, all forms of VOD, PPV, free tv, DTV, online, and mobile technology
- Detailed understanding of contract, copyright, and trademark law
- Experience working in a multinational company, coordinating projects with multiple divisions
Ability To:
- Work in a fast-paced environment with ever-changing landscape
- Adapt negotiations and drafting to meet changing needs of international clients
- Work toward strategic objectives, working closely with tax, transactional legal, corporate legal, music legal, and business affairs, and with local offices to manage business affairs issues
- Prioritize work effectively under pressure to optimize results
- Work effectively as a member of the business affairs team, working with internal managers and, where required, the company’s outside counsel.
- Take the initiative to advise on distribution issues as well as take instruction
- Synthesize complex transactional matters and create deal memos and agreements, which are clear and easy to administer.
Requirements:
- University degree or equivalent
- Typically over 2 years experience as a qualified legal professional
- 3-5 years of related television format distribution business affairs experience
- Outstanding drafting skills
- Background in working in or with multimedia international corporations
- Required fluency in English and another language is preferred but not necessary