Starting point: why is this urgent now?

• How did the need for negotiated distribution arise for your team this quarter?
• Walk me through the growth review or metric that triggered this evaluation, including the CAC and LTV assumptions you are using
• Tell me about the subscriber cohorts most affected, by region, device, or plan
• When do you need improved subscriber economics to materialize for leadership to consider the program a success? Options: Immediately, Within 30 days, Within 60 days, Within 90 days, Longer than 90 days
• If the numbers do not improve within your target window, what single decision would leadership make about pursuing partner-driven distribution?

Where the economics are actually breaking

• What single unit-economics failure would make you stop increasing direct-to-consumer spend and prioritize partner negotiations instead?
• Describe how your current CAC compares to projected LTV by cohort and contract term
• How much headroom do you have in your acquisition budget to experiment with partner-driven channels? Options: None, Small test budget (<5% of current CAC spend), Moderate budget (5-15%), Significant budget (>15%)
• Which subscriber segments would you prioritize acquiring through carrier, broadband, or device bundles, and why? Options: New-to-service users, Churn-prone subscribers, High-LTV households, Lower-ARPU yet high volume segments, Other
• When would you consider pausing any partnership pilots if acquisition quality or retention falls short of targets? Options: After initial month, After 30 days of live data, After 60 days, Only after 90 days unless extreme failure

Who must be in the room to move this forward

• Who are the named decision makers and what decision rights does each hold for distribution deals in your organization?
• Tell me about the internal stakeholders who must approve content window or exclusivity changes
• In the last 12 months, which internal owner has successfully closed a partner negotiation and how did that outcome affect subscriber trends?
• Is there a person or role that can unilaterally veto a new partner distribution agreement? Options: Yes, No, Depends on deal size
• Would a lack of executive buy-in from any one of the roles you named stop the engagement immediately? Options: Yes, stop immediately, No, we could proceed with contingency, Maybe, depends on role

Where your current distribution succeeds and where it fails

• Walk me through your current carriage footprint, listing partner type, geographic reach, promotional commitments, and their contribution to net adds
• Which markets or device classes are producing the highest paid retention versus trial churn? Options: Fixed broadband bundles, Mobile carrier bundles, Connected TV devices, Smartphone preloads, Retail device bundling
• Describe the last three carriage negotiations you ran and the specific terms that moved the retention or acquisition needle
• Are there partner relationships you consider irreplaceable in the short term, and why?
• If a top partner required terms that would materially worsen your unit economics, would you walk away? Options: Yes, walk away, No, accept with guardrails, Negotiate alternate concessions

Existing agreements and hard stops

• Where in your existing agreements are the most restrictive clauses that could stop a new carriage or bundling deal?
• Do you have signed copies or executive summaries of those agreements available for review? Options: Yes, fully available, Partial summaries only, No, need to request
• Who in your organization has contract redline authority and what is their typical turnaround time on partner changes?
• Estimate how many active partner agreements across your priority markets would require legal or business negotiation to change windows or promotional commitments Options: 1-3, 4-10, 11-25, More than 25
• Would the presence of any single blocking clause end the engagement before it begins? Options: Yes, No, we would scope around it, Not sure

Other paths you are weighing

• Do you have internal proposals to solve distribution gaps without an outside adviser or partner? Options: Yes, No, Under discussion
• What would have to be true about your current in-house approach for you to stick with it instead of changing to an external engagement?
• Are any internal teams proposing to run negotiations themselves, and if so which teams? Options: Head of Distribution, Business Affairs / Legal, Commercial Partnerships, Growth/Marketing, Other
• Please select the external alternatives you have evaluated or are speaking to Options: Another negotiation adviser, Large consulting firm, Specialist boutique adviser, Incumbent renewal without change, Do nothing and keep DTC spend, Other
• On a scale of 1 to 5, how likely are you to hire an external adviser versus pursuing an internal path, with 1 being not likely and 5 being very likely? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

If we attempted to start outreach in 30 days, what would block us

• Imagine we begin outreach in 30 days, what specific data access and internal approvals would block your team first?
• Is your subscriber, churn, and ARPU data consolidated and accessible for modeling today? Options: Yes, ready to use, Partially consolidated, No, not accessible
• Name the team that owns distribution and subscriber data and estimate their typical delivery lead time for a data extract
• List any regulatory, privacy, or carrier approval steps that typically add weeks to a negotiation timeline
• Could you proceed on a restricted pilot if full data or approvals are not available in 4 weeks? Options: Yes, No, Maybe with conditions

What success looks like and how we get there

• Define the exact acquisition-cost, retention, and net-add targets that would make you sign a negotiation engagement within 30 days
• List the stakeholders who must see the modeled LTV and CAC before approval moves forward Options: CFO / Head of Finance, Chief Commercial Officer, Head of Distribution, Head of Content / Programming, General Counsel, Product
• Estimate the minimum pilot period and sample size you would require to validate subscriber quality from partner channels Options: 2 weeks / <1k samples, 4 weeks / 1k-10k, 8 weeks / 10k-50k, 12+ weeks / >50k
• On a scale of 1 to 5, how willing is your finance team to trade short-term revenue guarantees for improved long-term CAC? Options: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
• Name the single approval step that would allow a signed engagement the week your pilot targets are met

• Audit Kickoff and Data Intake
• Agreement Clause Inventory Workshop
• Territory and Window Mapping Session
• Promotion and Marketing Commitment Review
• Partner Relationship and Audit Synthesis

• Schedule the Negotiation Campaign readiness review once approvals and data gaps are closed.
• Completed promotional commitments matrix with estimated financial exposure and fulfillment rates.
• List of promotional clauses requiring evidence or reconciliation before negotiation.
• Agreement on measurement gaps and the next steps to validate past campaign performance.
• Compile and share the promotional commitments matrix including estimated spend exposure.
• Upload campaign reports, placement proofs, and invoicing tied to contractual commitments.
• Provide historical fulfillment rates and any dispute correspondence related to promotional obligations.
• List measurement and tracking endpoints required to validate future promotional performance.
• Present consolidated audit findings
• Signed off consolidated audit report and prioritized partner negotiation list.
• Clear set of negotiation targets and asks for each top partner with timeline to begin outreach.
• Complete list of outstanding approvals and missing data required to start negotiations.
• Publish the final audit report with appendices for clause inventory, territory mapping, and promotional commitments.
• Produce the prioritized partner list with stated negotiation targets and proposed timing.
• Assemble the outstanding evidence and approval checklist required to begin outreach to top partners.
• Confirm scope and prioritized partner list
• Finalized list of in-scope partners and the sequence of per-partner workshops.
• Complete document and data checklist with delivery dates for each partner.
• Confirmed secure access method and confidentiality commitments for contract review.
• Upload all current agreement PDFs, exhibits, amendments, and signature pages to the agreed repository by the documented deadline.
• Provide historical promotional activity reports and co-marketing invoices for each in-scope partner.
• Supply named contact list and approval authorities for each partner to schedule per-partner workshops.
• Confirm the repository access permissions and sign any required nondisclosure paperwork.
• Introduce clause taxonomy and critical-term criteria
• Produced clause-level inventory with critical-term flags for each in-scope agreement.
• Documented list of missing or ambiguous sections requiring follow-up evidence.
• Consensus on the top clause categories that will drive negotiation priorities.
• Populate and share the clause inventory spreadsheet capturing exact clause text and critical-term flags.
• Upload any missing exhibits, amendments, or redlined versions identified during the workshop.
• Provide historical reporting that validates contractually required metrics and payment calculations.
• List where clause language conflicts with standard templates or other agreements for benchmarking requests.
• Explain the territory and window mapping template
• Completed territory and window map for all in-scope agreements with conflicts identified.
• List of agreements requiring redress to achieve target market reach or to enable simultaneous launches.
• Catalog of missing geo or timing data needed to quantify subscriber impact.
• Deliver the populated territory and window mapping file with conflict flags.
• Provide geo-level subscriber counts or reach estimates for each territory identified.
• Supply any contract exhibits or schedules that define territory codes or mapping rules.
• Document scheduling constraints that would prevent re-timing windows or launches.
• Agree promotional commitment categories and metrics
• Prioritize partners by commercial impact and negotiability
• Review each agreement's promotional clauses and schedules
• Document and data inventory
• Walk each agreement clause-by-clause
• Map territories and distribution rights per agreement
• Map content windows and exclusivity timing
• Access, confidentiality, and delivery plan
• Reconcile historical fulfillment and quantify exposure
• Define concrete negotiation targets for top partners
• Identify ambiguous, redacted, or missing sections
• Confirm approvals, timelines, and remaining data needs
• Flag conflicts and data gaps for commercial impact modeling
• Timeline and workshop sequencing
• Identify measurement gaps and verification needs
• Confirm flagged critical clauses

• Solution Experience — Negotiation Playbook & CAC/LTV Scenarios

• Confirm the current state and its cost
• You confirm the presented scenarios show how specific term changes materially reduce CAC relative to current LTV assumptions.
• Provide current subscriber LTV, blended CAC by priority territory, and any recent promotional conversion lifts to finalize model inputs.
• Deliver a sensitivity model showing CAC and payback outcomes for the top three deal structures across prioritized partners within five business days.
• Translate audit findings into negotiable levers
• You agree the prioritized partner list and the negotiation asks that will be pursued in the 90-day campaign.
• Walk through modeled scenarios tied to CAC and LTV
• You identify the remaining evidence and approvals required to proceed to outreach.
• Confirm named negotiation authority and approval thresholds for each prioritized partner so the playbook includes executable escalation paths.
• Present the prioritized negotiation playbook
• Validation checkpoint
• Agree next steps and decision criteria

• Solution Experience — Negotiation Playbook & CAC/LTV Scenarios
• Solution Experience Deck — Negotiation Playbook
• Solution Brief — Negotiation Playbook & CAC Modeling

• meeting
• slides
• document

• Run competitive tender with target distributors
• Draft and negotiate carriage term sheets
• Negotiate minimum guarantees and payment schedules
• Structure revenue share and performance escalators
• Design bundling and subscription packaging for partners
• Negotiate co-marketing and promotional commitments
• Secure device placement, preload, and app-store promotion
• Build territory-and-window revenue financial model
• Model subscriber unit economics (SAC and LTV)
• Draft rights-windowing and exclusivity contract language
• Define revenue waterfall and reconciliation terms
• Deliver comparable carriage-deal benchmarking pack

Run competitive tender with target distributors

• Which distributors or distributor types are priority targets (broadband provider, mobile carrier, device OEM)? Options: Broadband providers, Mobile carriers, Device OEMs, Retail aggregators, Other
• How many distributor relationships do you want included in the tender per priority market (for example top 1, top 3, top 5)? Options: 1, 2-3, 4-5, More than 5
• Provide the incumbent carriage agreements to include in benchmarking by territory and contract expiry date.
• What timeline do you require for the tender process, including start date, bid window, and a 90-day negotiation target? Options: Start within 2 weeks, Start within 1 month, Start within 60 days, Custom timeline
• Who at your team will be the point of contact for distributor bid evaluation and decisioning? Options: Head of Distribution, Commercial Operations Lead, Business Affairs Lead, Finance Contact, Other
• Do you require sealed bids, staged RFI then RFP, or an open competitive negotiation format for the tender? Options: Sealed bids, Staged RFI then RFP, Open negotiation, Hybrid

Draft and negotiate carriage term sheets

• List the contract templates or legal clauses you require in carriage term sheets (for example minimum guarantee clause, audit right, indemnity, credit terms).
• Which commercial terms must be non-negotiable for the term sheet (for example minimum guarantee floor, exclusivity ban, or payment currency)? Options: Minimum guarantee floor, No exclusivity, Fixed payment currency, None - all negotiable
• How granular should territory and window definitions be in the term sheet (country level, state/region, DMA)? Options: Country, State/Region, DMA (Designated Market Area), Custom mix
• Who on your legal team will review draft term sheets and what SLA do they require for turnaround on redlines? Options: 3 business days, 5 business days, 10 business days, Custom SLA
• Do you require redline-friendly term-sheet language that can be converted to a binding agreement without reformatting? Options: Yes, No
• What evidence will validate a mutual execution-ready term sheet (for example required signatories, counsel approvals, and finance sign-off thresholds)?

Negotiate minimum guarantees and payment schedules

• What is your target minimum guarantee structure by territory or quarter (fixed annual MG, quarterly MG, tiered MG)? Options: Fixed annual MG, Quarterly MG, Tiered MG by performance, No MG target
• Which payment schedules do you prefer for MG settlement (advance quarterly, monthly in arrears, milestone-based)? Options: Advance quarterly, Monthly in arrears, Milestone-based payments, Custom schedule
• Are performance-backed clawbacks or credit notes required for missed promotional commitments? Options: Yes, No
• Who will own billing reconciliation for MGs and which internal finance contact handles remittance? Options: AP/Finance Lead, Revenue Operations, Commercial Finance, External accounting firm, Other
• What file format and frequency do you require for payment and reconciliation reporting (for example monthly CSV of net receipts)? Options: Monthly CSV, Monthly PDF summary, Weekly CSV, Custom
• How will you verify funds received against contracted MGs (bank statements, audited reports, partner payment advices)? Options: Bank statements, Audited reports, Partner payment advices, Platform settlement files

Structure revenue share and performance escalators

• Which revenue share models should be modeled in negotiations (gross revenue share, net revenue share, per-subscriber fee)? Options: Gross revenue share, Net revenue share, Per-subscriber fee, Hybrid
• At what performance thresholds should escalators trigger (subscriber counts, ARPU bands, retention rates)? Options: Subscriber count bands, ARPU bands, Retention rate thresholds, Custom triggers
• Should the revenue waterfall explicitly allocate gross receipts to MGs, revenue share, and co-marketing credits? Options: Yes, No
• Who will approve escalator triggers from your finance or commercial team? Options: CFO delegate, Head of Commercial, Revenue Operations, Other
• What data feed do you expect from partners to calculate revenue share (for example settlement files, daily usage logs, monthly net receipts)? Options: Daily usage logs, Monthly settlement files, Real-time API, Other
• Are audit rights required to validate revenue share calculations and what audit frequency is acceptable? Options: Annual audit, Bi-annual audit, On-demand audit with notice, No audit required

Design bundling and subscription packaging for partners

• Which bundling formats are you considering for partner packages (telco-bill add-on, zero-price promo bundle, device-bundle prepaid months)? Options: Telco-bill add-on, Zero-price promo bundle, Device bundle with prepaid months, Cross-sell bundle
• What product SKUs and entitlement mappings need to be delivered to partner billing systems?
• Which promotional window durations should be offered in bundles (for example 30-day trial, 3-month prepaid)? Options: 30-day trial, 90-day prepaid, 6-month prepaid, Custom duration
• Who on your product team owns entitlement mapping and DRM configuration for device-level bundles? Options: Product Manager, Head of Engineering, Rights & Licensing, Third-party integrator, Other
• Will you require partner-side single sign-on or account linking and which identity provider must be supported (for example OAuth2/OpenID Connect)? Options: OAuth2/OpenID Connect, Proprietary SSO, No SSO required, Other
• What acceptance criteria will confirm a bundle is deployment-ready (for example entitlement mapping validated, partner billing test transactions successful, QA pass)?

Negotiate co-marketing and promotional commitments

• Which co-marketing deliverables are required from partners (for example onboarding banners, inclusion in partner newsletters, paid media flights)? Options: Onboarding banners, Partner newsletter inclusion, Paid media flights, In-store device promotion, Other
• What minimum impression or click guarantees are you expecting from partner promotions? Options: Impression guarantee, Click guarantee, Install/activation guarantee, None required
• What co-marketing budget or marketing credit schedule do you expect from partners (lump-sum credit, tiered credits tied to MGs, co-funded media)? Options: Lump-sum credit, Tiered credits, Co-funded media, None
• Who on your marketing team will approve creative assets and what file specs are required for partner channels? Options: Marketing Lead, Creative Operations, Agency partner, Other
• Which campaign measurement metrics should partners share (attribution model, click-through rate, installs attributed to partner channel)? Options: Attribution model, CTR, Installs attributed, Conversion/activation rate
• Are embargoed creative approval timelines required prior to promotional flight start dates? Options: Yes, No

Secure device placement, preload, and app-store promotion

• Which device manufacturers or app store channels are priority placement targets (smart TV OEMs, handset OEMs, platform app stores)? Options: Smart TV OEMs, Handset OEMs, Platform app stores, Set-top box partners, Other
• What placement types do you seek on device homescreens or stores (home screen tile, preload, featured app store banner)? Options: Home screen tile, Preload, Featured app store banner, Category featuring
• What technical package will you deliver for device preload and integration (APK/IPA or signed binaries, entitlement manifest, DRM keys)? Options: Signed binaries (APK/IPA), Entitlement manifest, DRM keys, SDK integration package, Other
• Who on your engineering team will handle device SDK integration and what development SLA do you expect for partner workstreams? Options: 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, Custom SLA
• Will you require A/B creative testing on device home screens or app store creatives prior to rollout? Options: Yes, No
• Which telemetry event thresholds will you monitor post-preload to assess placement impact (for example first-launch rate, activation within 7 days)? Options: First-launch rate, Activation within 7 days, Retention at 30 days, Other

Build territory-and-window revenue financial model

• Which territories and market granularity should be included in the revenue model (country, state, DMA)? Options: Country, State/Region, DMA, Custom mix
• What windowing schedule do you apply for content rights purposes (for example SVOD window, TVOD window, exclusive window durations)? Options: SVOD window, TVOD window, Exclusive window, Hybrid windows
• Which revenue streams must be modeled per territory (minimum guarantees, ad revenue share, subscription uplift from bundles)? Options: Minimum guarantees, Ad revenue share, Subscription uplift, One-time placement fees
• Who will provide historical viewing and net revenue data for model calibration and in which file format (for example CSV or Excel)? Options: CSV, Excel, API feed, Other
• What discount rate or net present value assumptions should the model use for future cash flows? Options: 5%, 8%, 10%, Custom rate
• Should the model output include subscriber acquisition cost (SAC) and cohort-level scenarios for 12- and 36-month horizons? Options: Yes, both 12- and 36-month, Only 12-month, Only 36-month, No cohort-level output

Model subscriber unit economics (SAC and LTV)

• Which acquisition channels should be included when calculating subscriber acquisition cost (paid digital, partner bundle, carrier billing)? Options: Paid digital, Partner bundle, Carrier billing, Retail/device bundle, Organic
• What customer lifetime value assumptions should the model use for ARPU and churn rate inputs?
• Who on your finance team will validate LTV input assumptions and which historical cohort window should be used for calibration? Options: CFO delegate, Head of Finance, Revenue Operations, Other
• Which third-party user acquisition attribution model must be reflected when attributing subscribers to partner campaigns (for example last-click, multi-touch)? Options: Last-click, Multi-touch, Incrementality model, Custom attribution
• What acceptable SAC-to-LTV ratio threshold do you use to flag a go/no-go decision for partner distribution? Options: SAC < 25% of LTV, SAC < 33% of LTV, SAC < 50% of LTV, Custom threshold
• How will modeled SAC and LTV outputs be used in your acceptance decisions (for example budget approval, go-to-market commit, pilot launch)? Options: Budget approval, Go-to-market commit, Pilot launch decision, Other

Draft rights-windowing and exclusivity contract language

• Which content rights windows and exclusivity lengths do you require per title class (for example premium releases, catalog titles, originals)? Options: Premium release windows, Catalog windows, Originals exclusivity, Custom by title
• What blackout or holdback rules apply around broadcast windows and territory overlaps? Options: No blackout, Selective blackout per territory, Strict broadcast holdbacks, Custom rules
• Who will own rights clearance and delivery of licensing metadata such as EIDR IDs and title IDs? Options: Rights & Licensing, Content Operations, External distributor, Other
• Do you permit limited market exclusivity and if so what revenue uplift threshold would justify a timed exclusivity? Options: No exclusivity, Yes, with uplift threshold, Yes, case-by-case
• Which delivery and asset specifications must be included to activate windows (for example IMF package, closed captions, subtitle files)? Options: IMF package, Closed captions, Subtitle files, Quality control report
• Which calendar artifacts must be supplied to implement windows across partners (for example title-level window spreadsheet, rights owner contact list)?

• Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)
• Master Services Agreement (MSA)
• Statement of Work (SOW)
• Fee Schedule and Payment Terms
• Negotiation Authority Letter
• Data Processing Addendum (DPA) — conditional
• Acceptance Criteria & Success Metrics Annex
• Confidential Partner Outreach Protocol

• Go-live health check
• First measurement review
• Acceptance gate, outcomes review, and formal decision
• Quarterly performance review, subscriber economics
• Monthly backlog and issue triage

• Deliver the quarterly reconciled performance report showing partner and direct-channel SAC and LTV calculations.
• Pass/fail recorded for each numeric acceptance criterion and remediation plan agreed for any gaps.
• Incumbent wind-down status confirmed or a concrete wind-down plan documented with dates.
• Publish the acceptance decision record including pass/fail per criterion and the named buyer signatory.
• Deliver the remediation tracker for any conditional or failed criteria with dates for verification.
• Execute the incumbent wind-down steps or document retention-as-read-only and confirm data archive completion.
• Quarterly performance snapshot vs Engagement Scope targets
• Clear understanding of where partner-channel SAC and LTV to CAC stand against the Engagement Scope targets.
• Prioritized backlog items and operational actions set for the next quarter with target resolution windows.
• Confirmation of whether promotional and minimum guarantee commitments are on-track and any remedial steps.
• Re-confirm success criteria and owners recorded in the Engagement Scope
• Publish the prioritized backlog for the next quarter with target dates for resolution.
• Run the agreed partner offer tests and report preliminary signals by mid-quarter.
• Open issue register review
• Reduce the open issue count and shorten average days to resolution month over month.
• Ensure each backlog item that could affect subscriber economics has a named owner and target completion date.
• Documented escalation steps for any high-risk blocker with clear resolution timeline.
• Update the issue register with status, target resolution dates, and next verification steps.
• Assign owners and target dates to backlog items that affect measurement or partner delivery.
• Trigger agreed escalations for any blocker not resolvable within the month and record expected resolution date.
• All parties confirm the success criteria and named owners as recorded in the Engagement Scope.
• Data feeds and reporting validated as fit for first measurement or a remediation plan with dates agreed.
• List of high-priority blockers recorded with resolution dates.
• Publish a one-page validation report that confirms which data sources and dashboards are live and which require remediation.
• Record and circulate the blocker register with proposed resolution dates for each item.
• Deliver corrected or reconciled data extracts required for the first measurement meeting.
• Present first-period outcome data vs Engagement Scope targets
• Decision on whether current trajectory meets the Engagement Scope targets or requires remediation before acceptance.
• Named corrective actions with delivery dates that close the gap before the acceptance gate.
• Agreement on the exact dataset and validation steps required at the acceptance gate.
• Produce reconciled partner source files and reconciliation notes for each partner channel ahead of the acceptance gate.
• Implement agreed partner offer or placement adjustments and report initial signals by a fixed date.
• Update the forecast for expected SAC and net new subscribers at day 90 given the corrective actions.
• Restate acceptance criteria and numeric targets from the Engagement Scope
• Formal acceptance decision captured with a named buyer signatory, recorded per the Engagement Scope requirements.
• Operational validation of data feeds and reporting
• Compare partner channel SAC to direct-to-consumer benchmark
• Backlog item status and prioritization
• Present final outcome data for each acceptance metric
• Partner vs direct channel comparison
• Document pass or fail per criterion and capture the formal acceptance decision
• Escalations and high-risk blockers
• Root-cause diagnosis for any metric gaps
• Promotional commitments and minimum guarantee fulfillment
• Early outreach and placement signals
• Agree remediation plan for any failed or conditional criteria
• Blockers and open issues
• Closeout and next steps
• Agree corrective actions and timeline to the acceptance gate
• Shared backlog and enhancements triage
• Incumbent wind-down review
• Immediate remediation and short-term actions
• Agree next quarter operational actions
• Confirm readiness criteria for the acceptance gate