Carlton Cuse says sports rights are squeezing scripted TV budgets
Carlton Cuse told Deadline that costly sports deals are pulling money away from scripted TV as he prepares Netflix’s The Secret of Secrets.
By Georgia Hale · Staff Writer
3 min read
Carlton Cuse sports rights concerns are now part of a bigger Hollywood budget fight: the veteran writer-producer told Deadline that the money pouring into live games is leaving less room for scripted film and television.
Cuse, the Emmy-winning co-showrunner of Lost whose credits also include Bates Motel, Jack Ryan and Five Days at Memorial, pointed to the NBA’s 11-year, $77 billion rights agreement with U.S. broadcasters and streamers in 2024 as a sign of where entertainment spending is going.
He told Deadline that companies have finite budgets to win viewers, and as sports takes a larger share, less money is left for scripted projects. He also said the NFL is expected to look again at its rights deals, keeping pressure on the market.
How are sports rights affecting scripted TV?
Sports rights are the deals that let networks or streaming services show live competitions. Cuse’s argument is that live sports, especially football, reliably pulls in audiences, so media companies are putting more of their programming money there instead of into scripted shows and movies.
Cuse told Deadline that football remains one of the strongest tools for bringing viewers to a network or service. He said that more than 80% of the highest-rated U.S. broadcasts last year were football games, a fact he said networks understand well.
Even so, Cuse said he remains positive about scripted storytelling’s future. He told Deadline that drama and narrative television offer viewers a way to think about life, the world and themselves in a way an NFL game does not.
What is Carlton Cuse making for Netflix?
Cuse is preparing The Secret of Secrets, Netflix’s adaptation of Dan Brown’s historical thriller and the sixth book in the Robert Langdon franchise. He confirmed to Deadline that production is due to start in September in Prague, where the story is set.
Deadline has reported that Morgan Spector is in talks to play Robert Langdon and that Rebecca Hall is being eyed for the female lead. Cuse did not announce casting, but he said he has been traveling between Los Angeles and Prague as the project moves ahead.
The book follows symbologist Robert Langdon as he tries to save his girlfriend, scientist Katherine Solomon, after she goes missing. Her manuscript, according to the story description, could alter humanity’s understanding of the mind.
Cuse told Deadline that Prague is often used on screen to stand in for other places, aided by the Czech Republic’s production rebate system. He said people there are excited that this series will present Prague as itself.
What did Cuse say about AI and residuals?
Cuse also told Deadline he is not afraid of AI, saying the technology is already part of the business and the question is how it can be used. He said tools that cut production costs could help scripted storytelling by making ambitious projects cheaper to produce.
On residuals, Cuse said the old network television model paid better than the current streaming system. He told Deadline that guilds should keep pushing for better formulas because writers, directors and actors rely on residuals to cover bills between jobs.
Asked about reports that he and his son, writer Nick Cuse, are linked to a new Star Wars series, Cuse declined to confirm or deny anything. He said only that Star Wars helped inspire his Hollywood career and that he loves it.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.