Contract guidelines set for entertainers

By Do Je-hae

A set of ministry guidelines were announced Tuesday to eradicate unfair business practices in the broadcasting industry that have plagued production companies and entertainers in recent years.

The guidelines are included in a new standard contract system that would serve as a basis to settle conflicts over programs jointly created by broadcasters and production companies.

Broadcasters rely heavily on production companies for television dramas and other programs. A recent survey showed nearly 75 percent of all television dramas aired last year were produced by an outsourced production company.

There are 156 television drama production studios registered with the Culture Ministry, and the competition to win airtime has grown fiercer. Only 34 of those companies made TV dramas that actually made it to the airwaves in 2012.

Chronic issues of rights of use and profit sharing, among others, have caused an intense debate within the industry. As a response, the culture ministry has been working to implement a standardized contract system since 2010, in cooperation with industry experts.

According to the contract for broadcasters and production companies, both parties share the rights of use over a jointly-created program and must specify how to distribution the profit arising from the program.

The contract should also contain details on which party, either the broadcaster or the subcontracting production, is shouldering how much of the production cost.

If for some reason the broadcaster fails to air a program produced by the subcontractor, the broadcaster must still cover the production cost for the finished product.

In a separate contract for entertainers, referring to actors and singers, the performance fees must be paid within 15 days of the date of broadcast. Drama scripts must be delivered to the actors two days before filming at the latest and filming should not exceed 18 hours per day.

These are some of the details of the standard contract system. The question now is its implementation by the parties concerned.

“The system serves as criteria of judgment in the event of a dispute between the broadcaster and the production company,” said Park Young-gook, a director-general of the ministry in charge of media affairs in a press conference Tuesday.

“So we can say that the system does have a mandatory effect on the industry. We will continue to monitor how the system is received and make the necessary adjustments in the future.”

The plight of production companies received renewed media attention last week when celebrated television director and producer Kim Jong-hak took his own life after failing to overcome financial difficulties he had encountered as a production company owner since leaving MBC.

A system of outsourcing TV production was introduced in 1991 to diversify the source of broadcasting contents at a time when terrestrial TV stations dominated the industry.