Framing the Outcome

• Tell me about the single commercial outcome you most need from the next rights cycle.
• Who on your leadership team will be accountable for delivering that outcome, and how do they measure success? Options: CEO / Commissioner, CFO, Head of Media/Distribution, Commercial / Sponsorship Lead, Board or Owner, Other
• How soon does a signed deal need to be in place to avoid a revenue or distribution gap for your organization? Options: Immediately (0-3 months), 3-6 months, 6-12 months, More than 12 months
• Which metrics will determine whether the upcoming rights cycle is successful for your organization? Options: Annual media revenue, Average audience size per event, Total reach across platforms, Sponsorship uplift, Subscriber growth on owned platforms, Other
• If you do not achieve this primary outcome, what is the immediate business consequence that would force a change in strategy? Options: Loss of sponsor renewal, Budget reductions, Leadership change, Forced exclusivity decision, Other

Current Rights and Revenue Reality

• Describe the contractual term in your current rights agreements that most limits your ability to increase fees or expand distribution options.
• How much annual revenue does the current rights package generate for your organization, broken down by distribution type? Options: Linear TV, Domestic streaming, International licensing, Sponsorship-tied media, Other
• Estimate the number of unique partners, platforms, or territories covered under your existing agreements. Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6-10, More than 10
• When was the last time you materially renegotiated or restructured a major rights term? Options: Within 12 months, 1-3 years, 4-6 years, More than 6 years
• What single contractual change, if achievable, would unlock the most incremental revenue for your organization?

Who's in the Room

• Who currently holds final sign-off authority for media rights at your organization, and does that arrangement routinely slow or politicize deals?
• List the internal and external advisors or teams at your organization that will need to be engaged during negotiations. Options: In-house legal, External counsel, Commercial team, Sponsorship team, Finance, Board / Owners, External media advisors
• Name the people who will lead commercial and legal negotiation tasks and note any predictable availability constraints.
• If key stakeholders disagree on distribution strategy, what decision rule or escalation path does your organization use to resolve it? Options: Executive vote, Board approval, Owner decision, Finance veto, Predefined prioritization
• Which single role, if unavailable, would stop the negotiation from progressing? Options: General Counsel, Commissioner / CEO, Head of Media, CFO, Primary Deal Negotiator

Audience Signals and Measurement Confidence

• On what basis would you defend your reported audience numbers to a skeptical buyer?
• Identify the audience segments, platforms, or territories that drive the highest commercial value for your rights package. Options: Linear viewers, Streaming subscribers, Social engagement/highlights, International audiences, Younger demographics, Other
• Tell me about the last time a measurement change materially revised your audience figures, and how your team adapted commercially.
• Do you have the rights and partner approvals needed to share audience, viewership, and engagement data with potential buyers? Options: Yes, full access, Yes, with partner approvals, No, requires approvals, Not sure
• What single data or measurement gap would cause buyers to pause or reduce the value they assign to your rights?

Revenue History, Benchmarks, and Expectations

• Have you been using historical per-game or per-event fees as the base for your valuation assumptions, and why might that be misleading today?
• Provide the last three years of media rights revenue, ideally broken down by buyer type or platform.
• Name two completed transactions you consider the best comparables and explain what makes them similar to your rights.
• In a typical year, how many one-off sublicenses, spot buys, or third-party distribution agreements does your organization execute? Options: None, 1-2, 3-5, More than 5
• Would you walk away from a modeled deal that falls below your internal revenue target even if it materially improves reach, yes or no, and why? Options: Yes, No, Depends on other concessions

Negotiation Constraints and Deal Risks

• List the regulatory, exclusivity, calendar, or sponsor constraints in your agreements that could materially limit buyer interest.
• When are your fixed distribution windows or blackout periods that cannot be changed? Options: Fixed season dates, Flexible within a quarter, Rolling windows, Other
• Describe any existing clauses such as most-favored-nation, first negotiation, or territorial exclusivity that might complicate a new sale.
• Give a percentage estimate of the likelihood of an ownership or leadership change during the anticipated negotiation timeline. Options: 0-10%, 11-30%, 31-60%, 61-100%
• Identify the single constraint that would force you to pause or cancel the sale process.

Competitive Alternatives and Decision Trade-offs

• Under what conditions would you choose to stay with your current incumbent partner rather than run a competitive process?
• Select which alternatives you are actively considering right now. Options: Renew with incumbent broadcaster, Negotiate internally without an advisor, Hire an external rights advisor, Split rights between linear and digital buyers, Expand direct-to-consumer, Other
• Provide the pros and cons your team sees in handling negotiations internally versus hiring an external advisor.
• Would you require a formal competitive process to consider offers, or would an incumbent match be sufficient to stop a process? Options: Require competitive process, Incumbent match sufficient, Depends on terms
• Do any internal stakeholders advocate solving this without an outside partner, and if so who?

Operational Readiness and Data Access

• Imagine we begin a valuation next week, what specific data or system access could your team not provide within two weeks?
• Select the systems that currently hold your audience and commercial records. Options: Internal CRM, Ad server analytics, Streaming platform dashboards, Billing and finance system, Third-party measurement provider, Other
• Is there a named data owner who can grant API access or scheduled reports, and are they available to coordinate during a deal process? Options: Yes, available, Yes, limited availability, No, not assigned, Not sure
• Rate the cleanliness and consolidation of your game- or event-level revenue and audience data. Options: Ready and consolidated, Partially consolidated, Fragmented but retrievable, Requires heavy cleanup, Unavailable
• Give the one integration or data gap that, if unresolved, would prevent us from completing a credible valuation in the first four weeks.

Acceptance Criteria and Next Steps

• Suppose we deliver a valuation and go-to-market plan in six weeks, what conditions would have to be met for your leadership to approve moving into negotiations?
• Are there budget approvals or fee thresholds that must be met before you can sign an engagement? Options: Board approval required, Finance approval required, Owner approval required, No formal approval required, Not sure
• In your target timeline, which internal milestone is the hardest to meet before executing an engagement?
• Explain what would still stop you from signing immediately even if a pilot valuation proves the financial model.
• Realistically, when could your organization execute a decision to proceed after a delivered valuation? Options: Immediately, Within 2 weeks, Within 1 month, Longer than 1 month, Unsure

• Data Inventory and Validation
• Audience Metrics and Baseline Revenue Model
• Comparable Transactions and Market Benchmarks
• Negotiation Levers and Candidate Deal Structures
• Synthesis and Valuation Scope Decision

• Provide any legal, exclusivity, or operational constraints that would invalidate proposed structures.
• Deliver the comparables dossier including source citations and relevance scoring.
• Flag any comparables that must be excluded for confidentiality and provide alternate public proxies if available.
• Provide any client-held transaction intelligence that would change relevance scoring.
• Inventory potential negotiation levers
• Ranked negotiation lever list with estimated direction of impact on price and reach.
• Selection of 3 to 4 candidate deal structures to carry into valuation and strategy modeling.
• Publish the lever-impact mapping and candidate deal structure matrix for modeling input.
• Confirm scope and success criteria
• Confirm which buyer types or platforms should be included or excluded from go-to-market testing.
• Recap session outputs and open questions
• Modeling scope and scenario list signed off for the Valuation and Strategy Presentation phase.
• Clear acceptance criteria and timeline agreed for the valuation deliverable.
• Publish the final modeling scope, scenario list, acceptance criteria, and timeline.
• Provide any remaining data access or confirm that the validated dataset is complete for modeling.
• Confirm the date and attendee list for the valuation presentation and any interim checkpoints.
• Validated dataset inventory that lists each file, source, date range, and confidence level.
• Prioritized data gap list with agreed access method and target dates for closure.
• Publish the validated dataset inventory and gap list for asynchronous review.
• Provide missing audience, viewership, or revenue files in the agreed format or grant access to the data endpoint.
• Deliver sample reconciliations for any revenue lines flagged as low confidence.
• Recap validated inputs and assumptions
• Baseline audience-to-revenue model accepted as the starting point for valuation scenarios.
• Key sensitivity drivers and their test ranges documented and agreed for scenario modeling.
• Publish the baseline model workbook with versioned assumptions and calculation notes.
• Provide any missing audience segment detail or cadence metrics required to refine sensitivity tests.
• Confirm acceptable ranges for the top three sensitivity inputs for use in scenario modeling.
• Confirm comparator selection criteria
• Agreed set of comparables with documented relevance scores for use in valuation.
• Initial benchmark multiplier set established with explicit caveats for each use case.
• Walk through the baseline model calculations
• Present candidate comparables with relevance scoring
• Walk the provided datasets and provenance
• Propose final scenario list and modeling plan
• Map levers to stakeholder objectives and constraints
• Reconcile client feedback and adjust scoring
• Reconcile revenue history samples
• Agree acceptance criteria and deliverable format
• Test sensitivity scenarios on key drivers
• Present candidate deal structure matrix
• Prioritize levers and select structures for modeling
• Agree modeling assumptions and next data needs
• Agree data gaps and access plan
• Finalize benchmark multipliers and document caveats
• Confirm timeline and next milestones

• Valuation & Strategy Presentation

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm that one of the presented valuation scenarios meets your minimum revenue threshold or clearly specify the remaining gap.
• Deliver the valuation model workbook with scenario assumptions and sensitivity analysis within five business days.
• Present modeled valuation scenarios
• You agree on the distribution option to pursue to balance revenue and audience reach and acknowledge its impact on sponsorship value.
• Provide final audience and revenue data sets needed to finalize the models, including viewership, sponsorship revenue, and rights inventory, within three business days.
• Walk through distribution strategy tradeoffs
• Confirm the internal decision maker list and their approval thresholds before the next meeting.
• You commit to the decision criteria, named owners, and timeline needed to proceed to Engagement Scope.
• Prepare a proposed buyer outreach list and sequencing based on the agreed distribution strategy for review in the next session.
• Recommend go-to-market approach and sequencing
• Validation checkpoint
• Confirm immediate decisions and next steps

• Valuation & Strategy Presentation
• Valuation & Strategy Deck
• Valuation & Strategy Solution Brief

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Build multi-platform revenue model
• Design rights packages and exclusivity options
• Develop financial forecast and sensitivity analysis
• Create comparable transaction comp memorandum
• Construct revenue waterfall and payment mechanics
• Prepare go-to-market offering and marketing materials
• Manage buyer outreach and competitive bid process
• Negotiate term sheets and commercial deal points
• Draft and redline definitive rights agreements
• Negotiate international distribution and sublicensing
• Coordinate commercial integration with selected platform
• Quantify sponsorship and audience-impact scenarios

Build multi-platform revenue model

• Do you have historical rights revenue broken out by distribution channel (linear broadcast, direct-to-consumer streaming, international sublicenses) for the past three rights years? Options: Yes, No
• How many audience segments (for example: local adults 18-49, national households, international OTT subscribers) should the model include as separate demand pools? Options: 1-2, 3-5, 6+
• What specific data files will you provide for modeling (audience CSV exports, ARPU estimates, ad-impression logs, historical P&L by rights year)?
• Which pricing structures should the model test and compare (fixed annual fee, per-subscriber guarantee, CPM-based ad revenue share, hybrid guarantee+share)? Options: Fixed annual fee, Per-subscriber guarantee, CPM-based ad revenue share, Hybrid guarantee + revenue share
• Who in your team will be responsible for model review and final sign-off (finance lead, head of media, commercial director)? Options: Chief Financial Officer, Head of Media/Commercial, Finance Controller, Other

Design rights packages and exclusivity options

• When do you intend the new rights cycle or window to begin (season opener date, calendar quarter) so we can align package durations? Options: Season start, Calendar quarter start, Specific date (provide in next field)
• Provide the current rights schedule or prior contract exhibit that maps rights by platform, territory, and existing exclusivity clauses.
• List the package types you want considered (full-season live, selected live windows, delayed highlights, linear-only, digital-only bundles). Options: Full-season live, Selected live windows, Delayed highlights, Linear-only, Digital-only
• Identify any league or venue blackout rules, local territorial restrictions, or existing carriage obligations that must be reflected in packaging.
• Confirm the maximum exclusivity duration you are willing to accept for a single buyer in months or years. Options: 6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 36+ months, Need custom discussion

Develop financial forecast and sensitivity analysis

• Estimate the high, base, and low revenue scenarios you want modeled and the single largest driver for each (e.g., subscriber conversion, CPM, sponsorship uplift).
• Describe the operational costs and launch spend we should include (platform marketing budget, production uplifts, rights administration) and provide amounts or ranges.
• Are there contract floors or guaranteed minimums from prior deals that must be treated as non-negotiable floors in the forecast? Options: Yes, No
• Include the audience and monetization metrics you consider primary for sensitivity testing (average minute audience, unique viewers, CPM, ARPU). Options: Average minute audience, Unique viewers, CPM, ARPU, Other
• State the forecast horizon you need (1 year, 3 years, 5 years) and whether terminal value should be included. Options: 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, Custom horizon

Create comparable transaction comp memorandum

• Select which attributes make a transaction comparable for you (sport type, market size, rights scope, exclusivity, linear+digital mix). Options: Sport type, Market size, Rights scope, Exclusivity, Linear + digital mix
• Indicate public or internal sources we should use for comps (press releases, SEC filings, industry press, your internal term-sheets). Options: Press releases, Regulatory/filings, Industry press, Internal term-sheets
• Supply any deal-level documents you already have for comparables (term sheet extracts, pricing exhibits, sponsor addenda).
• Attach links or files for up to five precedent transactions you believe are relevant.
• Define the adjustment factors we should apply to raw comps (audience scale, broadcast window differences, archive rights value) and the direction of each adjustment.

Construct revenue waterfall and payment mechanics

• Specify preferred payment cadence and milestone triggers to model (upfront deposit, quarterly draws, per-episode delivery payments). Options: Upfront deposit, Quarterly draws, Per-episode delivery, Monthly
• Share the contractual payment triggers we currently use or require (signed contract, delivery of broadcast assets, audience reporting availability).
• Upload any historical payment exhibits or sample invoice templates so we can align waterfall line items and tax/withholding mechanics.
• Send preferred currency handling rules and any escrow or payment-agent requirements (domestic wire, escrow, multi-currency settlement). Options: Domestic wire, Escrow agent, Multi-currency settlement, Other
• Flag the acceptance criteria for the payment waterfall model and payment schedule (final Excel with formula audit, signed payment exhibit, QA sign-off).

Prepare go-to-market offering and marketing materials

• Note the buyer-facing assets you want produced (executive pitch deck, rights summary one-pager, sample highlight reels, valuation appendix). Options: Executive pitch deck, Rights summary one-pager, Sample highlight reels, Valuation appendix
• Outline brand and creative assets available (logos, sponsor guidelines, highlight edits) that must be included in the buyer packet.
• Map which buyer segments each asset should target first (national networks, regional broadcasters, OTT platforms, international distributors). Options: National networks, Regional broadcasters, OTT platforms, International distributors
• Clarify whether you require embargoed or NDA-controlled versions of materials for initial outreach. Options: Yes, NDA-controlled, No, public version
• Approve the timeline for finalizing materials and initiating outreach (weeks from approval to first contact). Options: 1 week, 2 weeks, 3-4 weeks, Custom

Manage buyer outreach and competitive bid process

• Do you prefer a structured RFP, a two-stage competitive bid, or bilateral negotiations with prioritized targets? Options: Structured RFP, Two-stage competitive bid, Bilateral negotiations
• How many named buyer contacts or buyer categories should receive initial outreach in the first wave? Options: 1-3, 4-7, 8+
• What level of diligence package will be shared on NDA execution (financial model, audience logs, rights schedule, production specs)? Options: Basic summary, Full diligence package, Custom per-buyer
• Which confidentiality or NDA terms require pre-approval before distribution (mutual NDA, limited use, non-circumvention)? Options: Mutual NDA, Limited use NDA, Non-circumvention
• Who in your organization will handle incoming buyer questions and provide named responses during the bid window? Options: Head of Media, Commercial Director, Legal Counsel, Other

Negotiate term sheets and commercial deal points

• Do you have five prioritized commercial terms we should treat as anchors (minimum fee, exclusivity length, territory carve-outs, reporting cadence, sponsorship carve-outs)? Options: Yes, No
• How many rounds of term-sheet revision do you want budgeted before escalation to executive approval? Options: 1, 2, 3+
• What negotiation levers are acceptable to trade (windowing changes, archive ownership, advertising inventory split, minimum guarantees)? Options: Windowing, Archive ownership, Advertising split, Minimum guarantees, Other
• Which sign-off thresholds should trigger escalation to executive leadership (dollar thresholds, exclusivity concessions, contract term length)?
• Who has final authority to approve headline economics in a term sheet (role/title)? Options: CEO/Commissioner, CFO, Head of Media, Board committee

Draft and redline definitive rights agreements

• Estimate the number of contractual exhibits and schedules to be produced or redlined (rights exhibit, payment exhibit, delivery specs, reporting schedule). Options: 1-3, 4-6, 7+
• Describe any mandatory legal provisions that must remain unchanged (collective bargaining obligations, existing sublicenses, government-mandated windows).
• Are there technical delivery exhibits we must draft in contract form (media ingest spec, closed-captioning standard, DRM/rights management exhibit)? Options: Yes, No
• Estimate the evidence that will validate the redlined definitive agreement is ready for signature (countersigned MSA, executed schedules, legal clearance memo).
• Specify which contract sections your counsel prefers to draft in parallel versus those we should redline as advisory edits (commercial exhibits, legal boilerplate, indemnities). Options: Commercial exhibits, Legal boilerplate, Indemnities, Other

Negotiate international distribution and sublicensing

• Select which territories should be sold now and which should be retained for future direct exploitation (list territories or regions). Options: Sell now, Retain for later, Hybrid per territory
• Indicate any pre-existing local rights or exclusives that limit sublicensing options in specific countries.
• Supply localization and rights requirements for international partners (language feeds, local commentator rights, geo-fencing specifications).
• Attach examples of acceptable sublicensing fee splits or commission structures for local distributors.
• Define the approval workflow for sublicensing deals and the crediting/royalty mechanics you require in each territory.

Coordinate commercial integration with selected platform

• Specify which platform onboarding artifacts you can provide immediately (API specification, content ingest guide, DRM requirements, reporting schema).
• Share sample media files, metadata schemas, and delivery manifests the platform will require for test ingest.
• Upload a contact list of technical and commercial platform points of contact who must participate in integration testing.
• Send the preferred acceptance test checklist items we should pass during integration (successful test ingest, DRM playback test, delivery of analytics feed).
• Flag the acceptance evidence required for platform integration (test ingest logs, signed integration certificate, sample playback report).

Quantify sponsorship and audience-impact scenarios

• Note current sponsorship inventory counts and existing sponsor commitments we should include when modeling sponsorship revenue.
• Outline the audience KPIs that drive sponsor valuation in your deals (average minute audience, reach, demo share, digital completion rate). Options: Average minute audience, Reach, Demo share, Digital completion rate
• Map scenarios for sponsorship uplift or dilution under exclusive versus non-exclusive distribution and provide any internal estimates you have.
• Clarify the third-party measurement standards you will accept for sponsorship metrics and audience reporting (independent audit, in-platform analytics, agreed-upon third party). Options: Independent audit, In-platform analytics, Agreed third-party standard
• Approve who will be the sponsor relationship owner during negotiation and post-signature (title/role). Options: Commercial Director, Sponsorship Manager, Head of Sales, Other

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Fee & Payment Terms Addendum
• Data Sharing & Access Agreement
• Governance & Escalation Charter
• Engagement Authorization & Signature

• Go-live Health Check (weeks 1-4)
• First Measurement Review (weeks 4-10)
• Acceptance Gate — Operational Acceptance (around day 90)
• Quarterly Operational Review (ongoing)

• Prioritize enhancement requests and schedule them into the implementation roadmap with estimated delivery quarters.
• Close the top three delivery exceptions preventing a distribution window from going live and document completion steps.
• Publish the finalized reporting template and schedule that will be used for the acceptance gate review.
• Restate acceptance criteria and targets
• A formal acceptance decision is recorded with a named buyer signatory for the operational deliverables defined in Engagement Scope.
• Any failed acceptance criteria have a documented remediation plan with resolution dates and verification steps.
• The operational reporting cadence and issue-tracking channel are confirmed for post-acceptance handover.
• Publish the signed acceptance record and attach the supporting evidence package to the shared workspace.
• Create remediation tasks for any failed criteria with target completion dates and verification checkpoints.
• Enable the agreed reporting feeds and confirm the first scheduled report delivery date in the shared calendar.
• Revenue and distribution performance
• Confirm whether quarter-to-date rights revenue is tracking to the forecast recorded in Engagement Scope and surface any corrective actions needed.
• Reduce the count of high-priority operational issues by agreeing concrete remediation steps and timelines.
• Agree a prioritized list of enhancement requests to be scheduled for implementation and a target delivery quarter for each.
• Publish the quarterly performance pack including revenue reconciliation and delivery exception log at least ten business days before the next quarterly review.
• Create a remediation plan for the top persistent operational issue with milestones and target completion dates.
• Re‑confirm commitments and owners
• All executed agreements and the rights inventory are verified in the shared repository.
• Access to distribution platforms and reporting endpoints is confirmed for required users and partners.
• Open blockers are logged with target resolution dates and a tracking mechanism established.
• Upload the final executed agreement package and rights inventory to the shared workspace and confirm file integrity.
• Complete the distribution access checklist for each platform and confirm successful test deliveries.
• Create remediation tickets for each open blocker with target resolution dates and add them to the shared issue tracker.
• Present first-period results
• Confirm whether monthly rights revenue recognized is tracking toward the target recorded in Engagement Scope and identify shortfalls.
• Confirm whether the number of distribution windows live matches the deployment plan in Engagement Scope or identify gaps to resolve.
• Agree a remediation plan with dates sufficient to reach the acceptance gate timeline.
• Deliver an updated revenue reconciliation report that explains variances versus the Engagement Scope target within five business days.
• Present outcome data against each criterion
• Audience and delivery metrics
• Agreement and asset handover validation
• Diagnose gaps and root causes
• Document pass/fail per criterion and capture signatory
• Access and integration checks
• Enhancement request and issue backlog
• Agree corrective actions and timeline
• Agree remediation and enhancement priorities
• Agree remediation plan for failed criteria
• Early operations signals and exceptions
• Validate reporting format and cadence
• Review outstanding operational issues
• Operational handover next steps
• Confirm next quarter reporting schedule
• Agree immediate remediation actions