About Us
 
At the heart of creating and maintaining a profitable TV channel are
the skills to acquire quality, audience-building programming at
reasonable prices and the ability to maximise the value of its
commercial inventory.
 
Programs4Media (P4M), founded in 2002, is dedicated to helping TV
stations achieve these two critical objectives.
 
P4M is, above all, an independent distributor of feature films and TV
series. The company operates in three principal ways:
 
Catalogue Sales
 
Over the last three years, P4M has built up a catalogue of some 300
feature films which, together with a select list of scripted and
non-scripted TV series, it markets to broadcasters in its core markets
of Central/Eastern Europe and Africa. Top quality action features,
comedies and dramas constitute the bulk of the catalogue with casts
representing a genuine Hollywood Who’s Who.
 
Studio Liaison
 
For many broadcasters in developing markets, it is often difficult to
maintain a continuing and consistent dialogue with the major US
studios. P4M have an unrivalled set of relationships with the studios
and have achieved deals for broadcasters which have satisfied both
sides. From program identification (against broadcaster requirements),
through negotiation to contract stage, P4M stands alongside the
broadcaster to ensure that both quality and value are fully maximised.
 
Advertiser Support
 
Few broadcasters fully utilise their commercial inventory. Advertising
time is either not fully used or is sold at prices lower than could or
should have been achieved. P4M can help a broadcaster utilise a small
proportion of its commercial time to fund the acquisition of
programming that it would have otherwise have bought for cash. This
has the twin advantages of improving cash flow and improving average
commercial yield. Program barter, advertiser supported television,
sponsorship are just some of the ways P4M, with its strong advertising
heritage, can help a broadcaster increase profitability.
 
More recently, P4M has established two additional and complementary
areas of business:
 
 
Program Representation in UK and Ireland
 
The UK video and TV markets have traditionally been extremely
difficult for small to medium sized US independent producers and
distributors to penetrate.  Despite the large number of channels,
there has been very little exposure of non-studio or mega-independent
distributed product.  Program acquisition executives rarely, if ever,
attend the premier film markets (Cannes, Berlin and AFM) and therefore
never get to see the many excellent products which come from this
sector.  Programs4Media has set up an operation to correct this
imbalance and is ensuring, for its clients, that their features are
presented to each and every broadcaster in the UK as well as in the
Irish Republic, and that while recognising the longer term nature of
the exercise, licenses are secured wherever possible.
 
Program Representation in Africa
 
Africa is the last significantly untapped TV market. A combination of
limited broadcast competition, low licence fees and concerns over
piracy, have ensured that broadcasters, outside the main market of
South Africa, have generally not received the same levels of service
as counterparts around the world. To counter this, 20th Century Fox
recently appointed P4M’s sister company Programs4Africa as its
exclusive agent for all English-speaking Africa (except South
Africa). Through pro-active sales communication and attendance at the
important SITHENGI market, P4A is ensuring that broadcasters have
access to the highest quality studio feature films and series and that
Fox programming is the most widely distributed across the
continent. Click here to learn more about Programs4Africa.