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It doesn’t mean much to anyone under 45, but for older folks in Hollywood, the term “fin-syn” evokes a golden age of mansions, yacht parties and cutting-edge TV.
The FCC’s “financial interest and syndication” rules forced
TV networks to buy shows from superproducers like Norman Lear and Grant Tinker rather than making them in-house. And ever since the FCC did away with fin-syn 30 years ago, producers and agents have been longing for its return.
Now, with momentum building behind a U.S. film incentive, they are hoping the moment is ripe to recreate fin-syn for the streaming era. They argue it would bring a jolt of creativity and a spirit of enterprise to a business stuck in a creative slump.
The major agencies — WME, CAA and UTA — announced last week that they are forming a coalition with production companies including Imagine Entertainment and Legendary to push for legislation that would force streamers to buy at least 50% of their original content from independent producers. The legislation would also limit the length of licensing terms, reviving secondary markets that have largely withered away.
Their message is that Hollywood ails not only from runaway production, but also from a consolidated ecosystem that limits creativity and makes it harder for producers, writers and actors to profit from their labor.
“The tax incentive may change where the production shoots, but it doesn’t change who owns and profits from it,” argued Ken Ziffren, co-founder of Ziffren Brittenham LLP, who has been campaigning for a restoration of fin-syn for decades. “We think the tax legislation only goes so far to help our industry and it’s not a complete effort, and it can’t be a complete effort, unless it’s paired with a modernized ownership framework.”
Jeff Sagansky, a producer, investor and longtime fin-syn supporter, argued that overseas incentives are not the only reason that U.S. production jobs are going away.
“They’re also going away because of the way the streaming business has consolidated around four players,” he said. “They act as an oligopoly. They’ve got incredible pricing power,” saying the streamers are ordering 30-40% fewer hours of programming than they were a few years ago.
Getting the idea through Congress will be an uphill battle, and will face adamant opposition from Netflix, Amazon and the other streaming platforms. The effort also has the potential to sow division within an industry that has united behind the goal of passing the first-ever federal film incentive.
Supporters wanted to some version of their ideas into the tax credit bill that was introduced to much fanfare in September. But while they had some positive meetings, they were ultimately rebuffed. They are now aiming for 2027, when Democrats are expected to take control of at least one of the houses of Congress.
Rep. Laura Friedman, a co-author of the tax incentive as well as a former producer, said in a statement that she sympathizes with producers’ concerns about industry consolidation and the threat to diverse voices in entertainment.
“My focus right now is on passing our bipartisan national film tax credit bill to put film and television workers back on the job, but I look forward to continuing to work with stakeholders to ensure the industry is vibrant for the future,” she said.
The Streaming Innovation Alliance, which includes Netflix and other streamers, issued a statement on Thursday calling the proposal a package of “blunt government mandates” that would “only dampen production and discourage creative risk-taking.”
The Federal Communications Commission adopted the fin-syn rules in 1970, when there were only three TV networks. The rules prevented networks from owning syndication rights in their shows, and later, from owning shows that aired in primetime. The rules are credited with leading to an era of groundbreaking TV, including “All in the Family,” “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” and “The Cosby Show.”
The repeal of the rules in the mid-90s spurred a wave of vertical integration, as Disney acquired Capital Cities/ABC and Viacom acquired CBS.
Arguing that the end of fin-syn had killed off independent production, a group called the Coalition for Program Diversity urged the FCC to reinstate a version of it. In 2002, the coalition — led by Ziffren — sought a new regulation that 25% of primetime programming come from independent producers. In a deregulatory era, such pleas fell on deaf ears.
Nowadays, streamers typically either make shows themselves or buy from the handful of other major studios. When they do buy from indie producers, they typically take all rights for 10-20 years, locking the producers out of the option of selling into secondary markets.
Mark Vahradian, producer of the “Transformers” franchise and other films, argued that streamers are so powerful that they can dictate those terms, and that dynamic ultimately hurts consumers.
“There’s no incentive for the creators to go out and build something brand new,” said Vahradian, a founding member of Producers United. “That’s why they’re only making sequels and franchise titles. They own those and have no motivation to say ‘Why don’t we do something new?’”
For years there wasn’t much opportunity to do anything about it. But with President Trump vowing to “save” Hollywood from a dramatic downturn, fin-syn supporters see an opening.
The initiative would require an act of Congress, as the FCC’s ambit is limited to the public airwaves.
Andrew Long, a senior fellow at the Free State Foundation, a free-market think tank, argued that the streaming marketplace is far more diversified now than the three-network era of the 1970s.
“It’s hard to find factual predicate that would justify this kind of government intervention in the video distribution marketplace in 2026,” Long said, adding that it could raise First Amendment concerns. “I think there would be high scrutiny, and I think that given the state of the marketplace and the options available, it might not pass muster.”
But Rich Shuter, head of business affairs at UTA, argued that consolidation leaves his agency’s clients without much leverage — and viewers without much choice.
“We’re going back to a situation where you have these streaming conglomerates controlling all the content the country is viewing,” Shuter said. “They’re determining what is being produced.”
Shuter said that more risk-taking will lead to a more vibrant ecosystem.
“We don’t want to stall the federal tax credit from being passed as quickly as possible,” he said. “We hope the administration and Congress recognize this is a supplemental benefit.”
