Terminology Tuesday: Holding Fee

During pilot season, we believe any day can be Tuesday ;)⁠

And since we’re drawing a close on pilot season, we thought we’d dive into the explanation of what a holding fee is. ⁠

A holding fee can mean a couple of different things whether the project is a commercial or episodic television. ⁠

In commercials, if a client decides they want to hold an actor, it means the actor cannot book a commercial for a competing company. A client may decide they want to do this if they either are undecided about airing the spot again or know that they want to air it at a later date.⁠

In this situation, the holding fee check will continue to be sent every 13 weeks.⁠

For TV, holding fees pertain to the fee that must be paid to an actor to be held for any length of time.⁠

The length of the hold and fee can technically be negotiated and usually this fee pertains to actors who are optioned for another season. ⁠

The purpose of this hold is to keep the actor for taking another pilot/show that they could become contracted to. ⁠

This way, the network can keep actors in first position until final decisions are made about a pick up or renewal.⁠

#themoreyouknow #terminologytuesday terminologywednesday #thecastingdirectorscut #workingactor

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