During Hollywood’s pandemic shutdowns in 2020, one market stayed bustling: media rights sales. That has been a boon to some authors and agents who were able to get book-to-film or TV packages sold during a quieter time for the industry. “We felt like we had to make the most of opportunities during this period — otherwise, it would be very shortsighted of us,” says CAA books agent Michelle Kroes of the uptick on interest in the rights market.
The top four agencies’ divisions that handle media rights have been doing more business since the start of the pandemic as compared to the same time period the previous year, with CAA and UTA each pegging their deal totals at more than 250.