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Errors & Omissions Insurance Coverage – scam?
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You have to plead your case. Obviously, if they’re paying top dollar they’re not going to do cover you, but if they are giving you pittance, as many PBS outlets are want to do, they will help you out if they want your show(s). Like any negotiation, you must make it clear that you’re willing to walk away if they don’t capitulate.
Without naming specific call letters etc., over the years I’ve gotten several PBS outlets to capitulate, and some of the big cable broadcasters as well.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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[David Roth Weiss] “You have to plead your case. Obviously, if they’re paying top dollar they’re not going to do cover you, but if they are giving you pittance, as many PBS outlets are want to do, they will help you out if they want your show(s). Like any negotiation, you must make it clear that you’re willing to walk away if they don’t capitulate.
“This confuses me. PBS stations do not pay for programming. It’s the other way around. You have to pay to put your programming on PBS. In the case of one series we Post, it’s $2,500 per episode to have the presenting station run each episode.
That’s the rub with PBS, you have to raise your own funding and you have to pay the presenting station a fee to run each episode. They, in turn, use those funds in part to market the series to other PBS stations to make the coverage as large as possible. Unlike other networks, each individual PBS station is free to set their own schedule. So the presenting station is relied upon to market the series to as many stations as possible so you can get the widest coverage available.
The only way around this fee to have the PBS station participate in the actual production.
The positive side of this arrangement is that the production company retains ownership and all rights to the show so it can be re-sold in syndication or via direct to home sales later earning more income for the production company.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative MediaCreative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
[Tim Wilson] “Note re: insurance in general. This is a great time to look for new policies for EVERYTHING. If you can show that you’re even vaguely solvent, and have kept up payments on your old policy with no or only minor claims, you can save big.
“I’ll add to that to make sure you deal with a local representative who comes to your office personally to see your operation. We have had insurance through The Hartford since we opened in 2001. Through 2005 we were just dealing with a blanket insurance policy through their national offices.
In 2005 I had a local independent agent come out to the office and he ended up saving us almost $1,000/ year while doubling our coverage. He saw what we were doing and re-wrote the entire policy to better suit our specific needs.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative MediaCreative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
[walter biscardi] “This confuses me. PBS stations do not pay for programming. It’s the other way around. You have to pay to put your programming on PBS.”
Yes, that is true in many, if not most cases, but certainly not in all.
Traditional acquisitions and licensing still take place at the local level, on a limited basis however. It’s really matter of what you’ve got to sell and where and if it fits with the needs of the local station. The problem is, PBS stations have only a very small number of available slots they can fill locally, and they are cash poor as well. KCET has always had a slot in their schedule called INDEPENDENT EYE, for acquisitions. Other stations have similar slots.
David Roth Weiss
Director/Editor
David Weiss Productions, Inc.
Los AngelesPOST-PRODUCTION WITHOUT THE USUAL INSANITY ™
A forum host of Creative COW’s Apple Final Cut Pro, Business & Marketing, Indie Film & Documentary, and Film History & Appreciations forums.
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My insurer is The Hartford and an annual E&O policy to cover all our productions, including things like the hard drive got erased after the shoot as well as not delivering what the client wanted came to about $2800 a year. The guy who said it was only $50 more than his business insurance probably is not covered for many things.
A Director friend of mine also has this insurance and produces many high end TV spots in a decent market and his is also around $3000 annually.
Would be overkill for a single project but if you do productions of more than $1,000,000 each year, protecting yourself is surely worth $2500.
Rich Rubasch
Tilt Media -
I’ve never thought of using insurance for anything other than catastrophic loss, knocking on wood here in tornado country.
Thanks so much for all of the responses. Great information, which I expected when I submitted the original post.
Rich
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Yes, I’m dealing with facts, but no one can make a damage claim if I reported World War Two started in 1943 instead of 1941. The point is that if I somehow misrepresent someone in my work then, in theory, they could sue. However, they’d have to prove I intended to misrepresent that person. Absent malice, there’s no case. But, as we know, people may engage a lawsuit and hope to settle out of court.
Rich
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[David Roth Weiss] ” The problem is, PBS stations have only a very small number of available slots they can fill locally, and they are cash poor as well. “
That’s not my understanding at all of how PBS stations work based on my meetings with the Georgia Public Broadcasting and through the various series we’re delivering.
Each PBS station works as an independent entity. As such, they completely set their own schedule and are free to choose any programming to fill their day. Whether that’s something from a national feed or their own original programming, they can fill their day with anything. There is no “small number of available slots” to fill locally.
There’s a great example of that right here in Atlanta with GPB broadcasting a completely different schedule than WPBA 30. They’re both broadcasting right here in Atlanta, but have completely different broadcast schedules. There is no “national mandate” from a national PBS network or anything that governs what these stations “must” show like there is with networks such as ABC, CBS, etc…
KCET may tell you they have limited slots, but in reality, the entire 24 hour programming cycle is available for them to fill as they see fit.
And getting back to the original question of this thread, KCET is the only one I’ve ever heard of that will offer E&O for something they did not produce or co-produce. That’s definitely a rarity. We should probably all start calling them and pitching shows as that is a major budget savings.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative MediaCreative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
[Rich Rubasch] “My insurer is The Hartford and an annual E&O policy to cover all our productions, including things like the hard drive got erased after the shoot as well as not delivering what the client wanted came to about $2800 a year. The guy who said it was only $50 more than his business insurance probably is not covered for many things. “
That’s really good. That covers any and all productions you do for a one year cycle? that’s great!
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
Credits include multiple Emmy, Telly, Aurora and Peabody Awards.
Owner, Biscardi Creative Media featuring HD Post
Biscardi Creative MediaCreative Cow Forum Host:
Apple Final Cut Pro, Apple Motion, Apple Color, AJA Kona, Business & Marketing, Maxx Digital. -
Our local PBS station has never required this insurance before. They’ve welcomed my work because I enjoy producing historical content and it helps them stay ahead on their own production schedule if they have 15 fewer minutes to produce or program – plus it’s local and it’s free to them. I’m grateful for the exposure and the credibility a local broadcast of my work lends to my business. It also doesn’t hurt that I worked for them for 9 years before launching my own production company.
I intend to plead my case when the time comes – but I’m also evolving in my opinion about the need for this insurance – gradually. I guess it’s worth the peace of mind – but it alters the landscape for the super local, like me.
Rich
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