Business Development interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your CV.
2. Tell me about a deal you are most proud of - what made it close?
3. Tell me about a weakness, a failure, or feedback you have received.
4. Why BD - vs sales, strategy, or moving into programming / content?
5. Which kind of outlet appeals - linear broadcaster, streamer, FAST aggregator, MVPD, digital-native?
6. Why the firm?
7. How do you read the firm's current deal book - who are they buying from, selling to, partnering with - and where is it going?
8. What is the biggest commercial / BD challenge the firm faces in the next 12-24 months?

Technical concepts to master

• Deal economics + structures

  Rev-share vs MG vs flat fee · MFN clauses + their traps · Output deals + their risk · Recoup + breakeven math

• Distribution + windowing

  Window architecture · Carriage + retrans · FAST + AVOD economics · Territorial rights + exclusivity

• Negotiation craft

  BATNA + walk-away · Structural levers before price · Escalation + room management · Closing the relationship + the deal

• Cross-functional partnership

  Programming + content alignment · Legal + standards review · Finance + underwriting · Ad-sales + sponsor integration

Practical drills

• Pitch me a deal you would go after at the firm right now - counterparty, deal type, headline economics, why-now. Then tell me what could kill it + how you would defend against that.
• Structure a term sheet for [interviewer names a deal type - e.g. SVOD output deal, FAST channel launch on a smart-TV OEM, retrans renewal, sponsor integration]. Walk me through must-haves, trade-zones, walk-aways - + give me the simple breakeven math for the MG case.
• [Interviewer plays counterparty.] You are 80% through a deal. The counterparty has just demanded a 30% MG increase + global exclusivity + a 5-year term, citing a competing bid. Your CFO has capped you at the original MG + 20%. Walk me through the call.

Smart-question anchors

• Commercial direction - what {firm_name}'s head of BD wants the deal book to look like in 12-24 months
• Deal book shape - mix of licensing in / out, carriage, FAST, ad-sales partnerships + how it is evolving
• Negotiation + cross-functional culture - how BD + programming + legal + finance + ad-sales work together on a live deal
• Pipeline + forecast operating model - cadence, scoring, how the team holds itself accountable
• Renewal architecture - which marquee deals come up in the next 24 months + how the team prepares

Sourced from

Hollywood Reporter + Variety + Deadline + The Information industry coverage · MIDiA Research + Ampere Analysis + Omdia streaming + TV reports · IAB + NCTA + WBD / Disney / Netflix investor disclosures + 10-Ks · Glassdoor + Indeed + LinkedIn — BD / partnerships / licensing interview reports · RightsTrade + WIPO + content licensing primers · Tech Interview Handbook — behavioral framing