Fin-Syn Is a Rerun Washington Should Skip
Some of Hollywood’s most high-powered producers and agents have a pitch for Washington. Make streaming services spend half their original-content budgets buying from independent U.S. producers. Producers and talent agencies would get guaranteed business. Viewers, on the other hand, would get no guarantees.
The inspiration comes from the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, better known as Fin-Syn, which once restricted broadcast networks’ ownership of programming and their ability to profit from reruns. Supporters want a streaming-era version to revive independent production, preserve American jobs, and promote creative diversity, as they explained on a recent episode of the industry podcast The Town.
It’s a bad proposal with an understandable constituency. Production employment has contracted since the “peak TV” era, and producers dislike the terms streamers offer. A guaranteed slice of their budgets has obvious appeal.
But the conditions that once perhaps justified a system like Fin-Syn have long since disappeared. Viewers now choose among broadcasters, cable networks, streaming services, and online creators. Vertical integration—combining production and distribution under common ownership—can help finance programming and deliver it efficiently. Government spending mandates would put those benefits at risk and could even invite First Amendment challenges.