Broadcast Services Agreement Template (US)
Updated on August 22, 2026
A broadcast services agreement is what you sign when an organisation engages a broadcaster or production company to cover its events — as the official broadcaster of a league, a conference, a concert series or a stadium. It is a services contract with an intellectual-property problem bolted on: somebody has to produce the coverage, and somebody has to own the recordings afterwards.
That second question is the one the source template forgets entirely. It has a scope clause, a logo licence and a fee, and then says nothing about who owns the footage, who can cut highlights from it, who cleared the music and the on-camera talent, who insures the crew, or what happens if the event is cancelled. It also numbers three consecutive clauses "9", hard-codes the term to start on "the first game for the season", auto-renews indefinitely with no notice period, and sends every dispute to American Arbitration Association rules regardless of where the parties are. This template is a rebuild rather than a tidy-up, and it is deliberately kept separate from the rights-licensing document that often sits alongside it.
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Broadcast Services Agreement
This Broadcast Services Agreement is made on between of (the “Organiser”) and of (the “Broadcaster”). The Organiser engages the Broadcaster to produce and deliver coverage of the events described below.
1. Appointment
The Broadcaster is appointed to produce, and where agreed to transmit, coverage of the events covered by this Agreement.
The appointment is exclusive: during the term the Organiser will not appoint another broadcaster or production company to produce coverage of the same events, except for its own internal recording, accredited news access and content produced for its own channels.
2. Term
This Agreement runs from to . Renewal: . Where renewal requires notice, that notice must be given at least days before the end of the term. This Agreement does not renew indefinitely.
3. Events Covered
The events covered are:
Either party may propose adding or removing an event on at least days' notice; a change takes effect only when the other party agrees in writing, and the fee is adjusted on the same basis as the fee for a comparable event.
4. Production Standards
The Broadcaster shall produce the coverage with reasonable skill and care, using suitably qualified personnel, to the following specification:
- Minimum crew:
- Coverage requirements:
Editorial and technical decisions during production are the Broadcaster's, subject to the coverage requirements above and to any brand and safety instructions the Organiser gives in advance.
5. Delivery
The Broadcaster shall deliver as follows: Delivery includes the material specified above and any raw or isolated feeds the parties have agreed, in the stated format, and the Broadcaster shall retain a copy for at least ninety days after delivery.
6. Ownership of Recordings
All copyright and other rights in the coverage, including the master recordings, isolated feeds and raw material, belong to the Organiser as they are created, and the Broadcaster assigns those rights to the Organiser with effect from payment for the event concerned. The Broadcaster is licensed to transmit and use the coverage as this Agreement and any separate rights agreement permit.
Clip and archive licence for the party that does not own the masters: . That licence is royalty-free, cannot be revoked for material already published in accordance with it, and includes the right to make ordinary editorial cuts but not to alter the meaning of what was recorded.
7. Clearances
- Cleared by the Organiser:
- Cleared by the Broadcaster:
Each party warrants that it has obtained the clearances allocated to it, including any consents, licences and collective-agreement obligations that apply to the people and material concerned, and shall indemnify the other against claims arising from a failure to do so. Neither party is responsible for clearances allocated to the other.
8. Names, Marks and Promotion
Each party grants the other a limited, non-transferable licence to use its name, logo and marks during the term solely to identify and promote the coverage produced under this Agreement, in accordance with any brand guidelines supplied. Neither party may register those marks, use them to endorse other products, or use them after the term except in an accurate factual reference to past work.
9. Advertising, Sponsorship and On-air Identification
Advertising and sponsorship arrangements around the coverage are:
Where the coverage or any part of it is transmitted in exchange for money, services or other valuable consideration, the Broadcaster is responsible for making any sponsorship identification announcement required by broadcasting regulation, and shall tell the Organiser in advance what announcement it will make. Neither party shall offer or accept undisclosed consideration in exchange for including material in the coverage.
10. Fees and Expenses
- Fee basis:
- Fee:
- Payment terms:
- days from a correct invoice
- Expenses:
Fees exclude taxes properly chargeable. Expenses are reimbursed at cost, with receipts, only where pre-approved in writing.
11. Cancellation, Postponement and Force Majeure
- If the Organiser cancels an event more than the notice window below before it, % of the fee for that event is payable, plus non-recoverable costs already committed.
- If the Organiser cancels within days of the event, % of the fee for that event is payable, plus non-recoverable committed costs.
- If an event is abandoned after the Broadcaster has arrived and begun set-up, % of the fee for that event is payable.
- If an event is postponed, the fee transfers to the new date if the Broadcaster is available, and the costs of the abandoned attempt are payable at cost.
- If an event cannot take place because of something genuinely outside both parties' control, neither party is in breach; the Broadcaster is entitled to costs actually and unavoidably incurred, and the balance of the fee for that event is not payable.
12. Insurance
The Broadcaster shall maintain the following insurance throughout the term and shall provide evidence of it on request, and in any event before first attendance at a venue that requires it:
13. Liability
Neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, revenue or goodwill. Each party's total liability under this Agreement is limited to . The limits do not apply to the clearance indemnities above, to payment obligations, or to death, personal injury or fraud.
14. Termination
Either party may terminate immediately if the other commits a material breach and fails to remedy it within days of written notice, or becomes insolvent. On termination the Organiser shall pay for events already covered and for committed costs; the Broadcaster shall deliver everything produced up to that point; and the ownership, clearance, licence and liability provisions survive.
15. General and Governing Law
- This Agreement is the entire agreement on its subject matter and supersedes earlier discussions.
- Changes must be in writing and signed by both parties.
- Neither party may assign or subcontract the whole of this Agreement without the other's written consent; the Broadcaster may use ordinary production subcontractors and remains responsible for them.
- If any provision is unenforceable, the remainder continues in force.
- Notices go to the addresses above or to an email address the parties confirm in writing.
This Agreement is governed by the laws of . The parties shall first escalate any dispute to a senior representative of each party.
If the dispute is not resolved within thirty days of escalation, either party may bring proceedings in the courts of , to whose jurisdiction the parties submit.
For the Organiser
Date signed:
For the Broadcaster
Date signed:
Services agreement or rights licence? Usually both, but not in one clause
Two different deals hide behind the phrase "broadcast contract". In one, the organiser is buying production and transmission services: somebody brings cameras, a crew and a truck, and delivers finished coverage. In the other, the organiser is selling the right to exploit its event, and the broadcaster pays for it.
Real deals often combine them — the broadcaster produces the coverage and takes the rights, sometimes paying a rights fee and charging a production fee. But the clauses are different, the money flows in opposite directions, and mixing them in one paragraph is how contracts end up unusable. This template covers the services side and states plainly whether a separate rights licence exists. The companion rights document is linked from this page.
Ownership of the recordings is the clause that pays for itself
A live event produces an asset that outlives the broadcast: the master recording, the isolated camera feeds, the highlight clips, the archive. Whoever owns that owns the ability to license it later, to make a documentary out of it, or to sell it to a streaming platform in three years.
This template puts the choice on a switch. Either the organiser owns the recordings and licenses the broadcaster to transmit them, or the broadcaster owns them and licenses the organiser to use clips for its own promotion. Both are common. What is not workable is silence, because copyright will then sit with whoever created and fixed the work — usually the production company — and the organiser discovers it owns nothing of the season it paid to have covered. The template also handles the practical middle ground: whoever does not own the master gets a defined clip and archive licence, with a delivery obligation for the raw material.
Clearances: music, talent and everyone in shot
Coverage of a live event sweeps up other people's rights. Music played in the venue, commentary and on-camera talent, stadium screen content, sponsor branding, arena graphics and members of the public in the crowd all raise clearance questions, and unions and guilds may set terms for the people appearing or working on the production.
The template allocates each category expressly rather than leaving it to a warranty that everything is fine. The organiser typically clears venue access, participants and in-venue music; the production company typically clears its crew, its own library music and any archive it inserts. Each side indemnifies the other for what it agreed to clear. That single allocation prevents the most expensive kind of argument, which arrives months later in the form of a licensing claim.
Sponsorship identification is a broadcaster's legal duty
If the coverage will air on a licensed US broadcast station and the station receives money, services or other valuable consideration for carrying it, sponsorship identification rules apply: the station must announce that the matter is sponsored, paid for or furnished, and by whom.
That matters for two clauses in this template. First, paid-for coverage — where the organiser pays for airtime — has to be identified on air, and the contract should say who is responsible for the announcement and its wording. Second, the sponsor and advertising clause has to fit around it: an event sponsor whose consideration reaches the station is a sponsorship-identification question, not just a commercial one. The template requires the broadcaster to comply and to tell the organiser what disclosure it will make.
Cancellation, force majeure and the money
Live events are cancelled, postponed, moved and shortened. A services contract that only prices "per event" produces an argument the first time an event is abandoned after the crew has arrived and set up.
This template separates the cases: cancellation by the organiser with notice, cancellation on the day, abandonment after set-up, postponement to a new date, and an event genuinely prevented by something outside both parties' control. It ties each to a proportion of the fee and to recoverable costs actually incurred, which is far easier to apply than a general force-majeure clause on its own. It also fixes the source's perpetual auto-renewal with a defined term, a renewal that requires positive agreement or notice, and a real termination-for-cause route with a cure period.
Clause-by-clause guide
- Appointment and status
- Appoints the broadcaster, states whether the appointment is exclusive, and says whether a separate rights licence exists.
- Term and renewal
- A defined start and end with renewal by agreement or notice — not an indefinite roll-over tied to a sporting season.
- Events covered
- The schedule of events, how events are added or dropped, and the notice needed for each.
- Production standards
- Camera and audio specification, resolution, graphics package, commentary, minimum crew and coverage of key moments.
- Delivery
- What is delivered, in what format, to whom and by when — including the raw material where the other party needs it.
- Ownership of recordings
- A switch between organiser-owned and broadcaster-owned masters, with a clip and archive licence back to the other party either way.
- Clearances
- Splits responsibility for music, participants, crew, venue, in-venue screens and archive, with matching indemnities.
- Marks and branding
- A limited licence for each party to use the other's name and logo to promote the coverage, with approval and no other use.
- Sponsorship, advertising and identification
- How advertising inventory is handled, and the broadcaster's duty to make any sponsorship identification announcement required on air.
- Fees and expenses
- Fee per event or per term, invoicing, payment days, pre-approved expenses and travel.
- Cancellation and postponement
- Graduated consequences for cancellation with notice, on the day, after set-up, or on postponement.
- Insurance
- Required cover for the crew, equipment and public liability, with evidence on request — often a venue requirement too.
- Indemnity and liability
- Mutual indemnities tied to the clearance split, with a cap and the usual carve-outs.
- Termination
- Notice termination, termination for material breach with a cure period, and what happens to material already produced.
US points to check
Identify sponsored matter on air
Where a broadcast station transmits matter in exchange for money, services or other valuable consideration, it must announce that the matter is sponsored, paid for or furnished, and by whom. Decide in the contract who drafts and makes that announcement.
47 C.F.R. § 73.1212Do not rely on the statute alone for payola exposure
The FCC treats sponsorship identification and payola as an enforcement priority and publishes guidance for licensed broadcasters. If any consideration flows to station staff or programmers, address it expressly.
FCC — payola and sponsorship identificationFix ownership of the master in writing
Copyright in an audiovisual work starts with the author and, for a commissioned production company, does not pass to the customer without a written assignment or a qualifying work-made-for-hire agreement. If the organiser needs the archive, say so in the contract.
Check union and guild obligations
Talent, commentators, musicians and crew may be covered by collective agreements that set minimums, residuals or reporting duties. Confirm what applies before agreeing the production budget.
Allocate music licensing explicitly
Music heard in the venue, in walk-on cues and in packaged content raises separate licensing questions from the coverage itself. Name who clears each category rather than relying on a general warranty.
Confirm insurance meets the venue's requirements
Venues commonly require evidence of public liability and equipment cover before allowing a production on site, and levels differ. Check the venue's requirement, not just your own policy.
How to complete this agreement
- Identify the parties and the appointment. Enter the organiser and broadcaster, and say whether the appointment is exclusive and whether a separate rights licence exists.
- Set the term and the event schedule. Add the start and end dates, the renewal basis, and the events covered with the notice needed to add or drop one.
- Specify the production. Enter the technical specification, crew minimum, graphics and commentary requirements and the delivery format and deadline.
- Choose who owns the recordings. Set the ownership switch, then set the clip and archive licence for whichever party does not own the master.
- Split the clearances. Confirm who clears music, participants, crew, venue and archive, and check the indemnities match that split.
- Fix money and cancellation. Enter the fee basis, payment days, expenses, and the cancellation percentages for each notice window.
- Review, download and sign. Read the rendered document, download the DOCX or print to PDF, and have both parties sign.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between this and a broadcast rights agreement?
This document engages someone to produce and deliver the broadcast — it is a services contract, and the organiser normally pays. A broadcast rights agreement licenses the right to exploit the event, and the broadcaster normally pays. Many real deals involve both, but they should be two documents or two clearly separated parts, because the obligations, the money and the remedies run in opposite directions.
Who owns the footage after the event?
Whoever the contract says. Without a clause, copyright generally sits with the party that created and fixed the work — usually the production company — and a written assignment or qualifying work-made-for-hire agreement is needed to move it. This template makes it an explicit switch, and gives the non-owning party a defined clip and archive licence so both sides can still use the material they need.
Can the organiser use clips on its own social channels?
Only if the contract grants it. That is why the template includes a clip licence in both ownership scenarios, with a stated duration, permitted channels and a maximum clip length. Social clipping is the most common everyday use of event coverage and the most commonly forgotten permission.
Who is responsible for clearing the music played at the event?
It should be stated, not assumed. In most arrangements the organiser clears what is played in the venue because it controls the playlist and the venue licence, and the production company clears library or packaged music it adds in the edit. The template allocates each category and matches the indemnities to that split.
Does the broadcaster have to announce that coverage was paid for?
If it is a licensed broadcast station airing matter in exchange for money, services or other valuable consideration, sponsorship identification rules require an announcement identifying the sponsor. Put the responsibility for drafting and making that announcement in the contract, and check the position for the specific outlet — cable, streaming and station carriage are not all the same.
What happens if an event is cancelled after the crew arrives?
The template treats that separately from cancellation with notice. Abandonment after set-up normally means the crew and equipment costs already incurred are payable, with the production element of the fee reduced. Setting the percentages in advance is much easier than arguing about a general force-majeure clause on the night.
Should the agreement auto-renew?
Not in the form the source template used, which renewed indefinitely with no notice period and no end. If you want continuity, use a defined renewal term that requires notice to stop, with a clear notice deadline — or simply agree a new term. Perpetual auto-renewal in a production contract usually favours nobody once the relationship changes.
Do we need arbitration?
It is a choice, not a default. The source contract sent all disputes to a single US arbitration body, which is meaningless if the parties are elsewhere. This template lets you pick courts or arbitration and name the seat, and adds an escalation step first, which resolves most production disputes faster than either.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are general information, not legal, broadcasting-regulatory, union or insurance advice. No attorney has reviewed your production. Broadcast regulation, collective agreements and music licensing change; confirm the current position before you sign.
