Kevin Beggs, chairman of Lionsgate Television, is a 16-year veteran at the TV production studio that, when he started, brought in roughly $8 million in revenue per year. Now, it has hits under its belt including “Orange is the New Black,” “Mad Men,” “Nurse Jackie,” Hulu’s “Deadbeat,” “Nashville,” “Anger Management” and “Weeds,” and its annual revenue is closer to $500 million.

Melissa Grego, editor-in-chief of “Broadcasting & Cable” interviewed Beggs at the Next TV Summit Tuesday evening, covering topics from how a TV show can measure its success to which business model works for which TV platform. But first, she asked how he and Lionsgate were able to get to that $500 million mark in the first place.

Beggs, who also received the Next TV Content Innovation Award on Tuesday, says it was all about successfully filling a niche in the market.

“The real statistic, honestly, was zero, when I got there in 1998,” said Beggs. “My mission was to get into the TV business in a time where most studios were not supplying networks with scripted originals. We kind of filled that niche, and in the time I’ve been at Lionsgate, the cable business has exploded.”

Beggs added that Lionsgate was able to make its way into the TV world organically, one show at a time.

“We’re smaller and more nimble, and have a much leaner staff than our factory studio competitors,” said Beggs, “but we still focus on being in markets that are new and emerging, such as Netflix with ‘Orange is the New Black.’”

Next, Grego touched on the show that Beggs called a hit – but without measureable ratings, how can that success be defined? “With ‘Deadbeat’ on Hulu, you called it a hit. What makes a show on Hulu a hit?” asked Grego.

“Yes, they call it a hit and therefore I do,” said Beggs. “It’s like an election in Chicago – declare victory early and often. They call it a hit so I agree.”

But Beggs agrees that with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu that are famously reserved about what they’ll release numbers-wise, it’s often up to other factors to measure which shows work.

“I also think with any new network or new platform, much of the value is derived from the buzzworthiness of the piece. ‘Orange is the New Black’ is an example that right out of the gate had a lot of buzz, beyond the metrics because we don’t know what those are.”

He says that with “Deadbeat,” he knew it worked when Hulu told Lionsgate they wanted to renew the show within a week of its debut. When the first season of “Orange is the New Black” was released on Netflix, Beggs said that success would mean a second season. Now that season two is well underway, he points to the effect it’s had on pop culture – people talking about the show (in person or online), parodies of the show, appearances on magazine covers.

“In a premium universe, so much of it is buzz and noise,” he said. “It’s a marker that’s not necessarily quantifiable. You know it’s working when it’s working. And everywhere else where it’s focused on a different metric, you can focus on ratings and views, but here I think we look at buzzworthiness and the next season.”

When it comes to TV platforms and channels, Lionsgate currently has a hold in nearly every part of the business: broadcast, cable, premium TV and streaming services. Beggs says these categories divide easily into “three buckets:” the tried-and-true model of broadcast, cable and the pay-TV/streaming universe.

“So obviously a network sitcom hit is the most lucrative television asset anyone could ever create,” said Beggs, adding that the broadcast world also comes with the highest risk, which is why Lionsgate is extremely selective about how it enters into broadcast deals. Because cable shows are already in that “second cycle” (you can’t easily sell a cable hit back into broadcast), basic cable deals are second tier. He lumps premium TV and streaming services together (Showtime, Netflix, Hulu, etc.) because “they may very well be the first and last home of the product,” so these outlets often pay more than the others, having to compensate for the lack of revenue Lionsgate may lose without easily made syndication or streaming deals later on.

“It’s a brave new world, the notion of being on a streaming service,” he said. Though there is always the opportunity to sell a show like “Orange is the New Black” back into a television window, nobody’s done it yet. Beggs equates this to when no one knew how to sell a cable show to a streaming service like Netflix. “And their models will continue to change – the shows we have now probably won’t look like our next show.”

And now, in the case of “Orange is the New Black” or “Deadbeat,” or the 10/90 syndication model Lionsgate helped to pioneer, will others follow Lionsgate’s lead?

“I think there’s a sense of letting other people test the ice on frozen lake,” said Beggs. “Maybe let somebody else drown then follow up. More often than not, you get a much better benefit by being first in.”

And finally, as “Mad Men” comes to a close, Beggs spoke about what the show has meant to his company and to him as an executive as well as a fan.

For Beggs, “Mad Men” is a shining example of a show that proved the studio’s dedication to high quality, while also helping a network burnish its brand. AMC and “Mad Men” share branding that not all networks can emulate – viewers typically know the show is an AMC series, and the network was able to build its drama brand with “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” off of its success with “Mad Men.”

“To our TV business, it’s been an incredible gift and growth engine,” said Beggs. “It defines the intersection of highest quality and cable programming together. It put us on the map in the TV space, it opened up the door for other cablers to make similar moves. The message there is great creative, if given the right platform, will always succeed.”

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