Step 1: Map the Modern Buyer Landscape

Before you even think about who to email, you need to understand the playing field. The world of TV distribution has exploded, and that’s both a challenge and a massive opportunity for you.

Gone are the days of just three or four major networks. Today, you have hundreds of potential buyers across the globe, all hungry for content. The demand for original series has never been higher, thanks to the streaming wars. This is your opening.

Your first job is to stop thinking “I need to sell my show” and start thinking “Which type of platform is the perfect fit for my show?” This strategic shift is everything.

Step 2: Know Your Buyer’s Needs: SVOD vs. Network vs. Cable

Okay, let’s break down the major players. Each has a different business model, a different audience, and different content needs. Pitching your gritty, serialized anti-hero drama to a network known for family-friendly sitcoms is a waste of everyone’s time.

Streaming Giants (SVOD/AVOD)

These are the global players like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, and Apple TV+. They are looking for content that can attract and retain subscribers worldwide. They often have massive budgets and are more willing to take creative risks.

• What they want: Binge-worthy, high-concept shows. Big genres like sci-fi, fantasy, and crime thrillers do well. They are also heavily investing in local-language content for international markets.
• How they operate: They typically buy out all rights globally for a significant upfront fee (a “cost-plus” model). This means a bigger payday for you, but you often give up long-term ownership.

Broadcast Networks (Linear TV)

Think ABC, CBS, NBC, or FOX in the US, or major public and commercial broadcasters in other countries. Their model is built on advertising, so they need broad-appeal shows that attract large, consistent audiences week after week.

• What they want: Procedurals (cop, legal, medical shows), family sitcoms, and reality competition shows. Concepts need to be simple to grasp and appeal to a wide demographic.
• How they operate: They usually license a show for a specific territory. The budgets per episode might be lower than a streamer’s, but you (the producer) get to retain more ownership and sell the rights in other countries.

Cable Networks

This includes premium channels like HBO and Showtime, as well as basic cable like AMC, FX, or TNT. They built their brands on being more edgy and creatively ambitious than broadcast networks.

• What they want: Prestige, critically-acclaimed dramas. Character-driven, serialized stories with a strong, unique voice. They are the home of the “anti-hero” and complex narratives.
• How they operate: It’s a mix. Premium cable acts more like streamers, while basic cable often follows a model closer to broadcast, but with more creative freedom.

Step 3: Build an Irresistible Pitch Package

Having a great idea is one thing. Presenting it professionally is another. You will not be taken seriously without a complete, well-thought-out pitch package. No shortcuts.

Here’s your essential checklist:

• The Logline: Your entire show boiled down to one or two compelling sentences. If you can’t hook them here, you’ve already lost.
• The Series Bible: This is the blueprint for your show. It details the world, the tone, the main characters and their arcs for multiple seasons, and outlines for future episodes. It proves you’ve thought beyond the pilot.
• The Pilot Script: This has to be the best thing you’ve ever written. It must establish the world, characters, and central conflict flawlessly. Get feedback, rewrite it, and polish it until it shines.
• A Top-Sheet Budget: You don’t need a full, line-item budget yet. But you do need a realistic estimate of what it would cost to produce one episode. This shows you’re a serious producer who understands the business side.

Step 4: Stop Guessing, Start Connecting with the Right People

This is the biggest hurdle for most creators. How do you find the actual person who can greenlight your show? The classic advice is “get an agent,” but that’s a chicken-and-egg problem. Agents want to sign creators with a track record, but you need an agent to get that track record.

While agents and managers are valuable, waiting for one is a passive strategy. You need to be proactive.

The goal is to identify the specific Development Executive or Content Acquisition Manager at your target companies whose job it is to find shows exactly like yours. Sending your pitch to a generic “submissions” email address is like throwing it into a black hole.

You need to find the person whose title is something like “VP, Drama Development” if you have a drama, or “Director, Unscripted Content” if you have a reality show. But how do you find them, and how do you know what they’re actually looking for right now?

Use Data to Fast-Track Your Sale

Here’s how you get ahead in 2025 and beyond. You use data.

Top producers and sales agents don’t just rely on their existing contact list. They use intelligence platforms to get a real-time view of the market. They track which buyers are actively greenlighting projects, what genres they’re investing in, and what deals have been made recently.

This data-driven approach removes the guesswork. Imagine knowing, before you even pitch, that a specific executive at a major streamer has been actively acquiring sci-fi shows in the $2-3 million per episode budget range for the last six months. That’s powerful, actionable intel.

You can use this information to:

• Prioritize your outreach: Focus only on the buyers who are a proven match.
• Tailor your pitch: Reference their recent acquisitions to show you’ve done your homework.
• Find co-production partners: See which companies are teaming up on projects similar to yours.

This is how you turn a long-shot cold call into a warm, strategic introduction.

How Vitrina Powers Your Pitch

This is exactly why a platform like Vitrina exists. We bridge the gap between having a great project and finding the right global partner to bring it to life. Instead of spending months searching outdated databases or relying on hearsay, Vitrina gives you direct access to the M&E supply chain. You can use our deal-making intelligence to identify active buyers, see their content preferences through real-time data, and track projects with our Project Tracker to find the perfect opening for your TV series. It’s about replacing “who you know” with “what you know.”