Territorial Waterfall

Explanation

A territorial waterfall describes the staged release of content rights across countries in a priority sequence. High-value markets (US, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Australia) are licensed first at the highest rates, followed by secondary markets (Canada, Spain, Italy, South Korea), then emerging markets (Brazil, India, Mexico) at progressively lower rates. This mirrors the theatrical windowing model applied to digital distribution. The waterfall creates situations where a show available on Netflix US is carried by a local broadcaster in Germany for another 18 months before Netflix Germany can acquire it. Studios use territorial waterfalls to maximize total rights revenue rather than accepting a single discounted global deal.