Welcome to Dealmakers with Alex Segal ✍️, a Substack on the realities of being a talent agent, packed with weekly insights to keep you ahead of the game 🚀.
Having negotiated £40m+ in talent deals 💼 and grown company turnover 5x in 5 years 📈, I am sharing my experiences and knowledge of 17 years representing some of the biggest stars in the UK.
Dealmakers is read by key individuals at the BBC, ITV, Netflix, UKTV, Sky, Sony Music, and other major entertainment companies, as well as all of the UK’s leading talent agencies.
If you want to negotiate better deals, sign better clients, and build a standout career in talent management, and you’re not already subscribing, please do, and join everyone who gets Dealmakers straight to their inbox 📩.
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✓ My Q&A with VIPs 💡 series with industry stars
✓ 50% off all of the Dealmakers Deal Sheets ✨
✓ PLUS the actual Secret Toolkits 🔥 I use daily to stay one step ahead
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What should I be asking for in this deal? It’s the question I get asked more than any other.
Acting agents negotiating their first podcast deal. Creator agents doing their first TV contract. Performers representing themselves with no idea where to start.
The problem isn’t what you know. It’s the deal points you don’t know you’ve missed. Miss one small detail and it could become a big problem.
That’s why I’ve created the 👉 Dealmakers Deal Sheets ✨. I’ve used them throughout my entire career and still do every day. Make sure you never miss an important deal point again.
For my Substack readers: Use code 🎟️ DEALMAKERS20 and get 20% off.
Dealmakers Weekly Wrap
I’ve just got back from the Edinburgh TV Festival. The final one in Edinburgh before its big move to Manchester. It was news galore in TV land, so I'll try and keep it condensed.
Every Sunday, I drop the biggest industry news from the past week straight to your inbox.
This is the stuff we are actually talking about.
Let’s go. ↓
Your weekly intelligence briefing…
ENTERTAINMENT:
Amazon Prime to make more from the UK: Prime Video will be increasing its UK content spend “across the board”, both in scripted and unscripted.
The BBC’s new Director-General takes aim: Matt Brittin wants to transform BBC iPlayer into a YouTube-style home for British content, allowing independent creators to upload work alongside traditional broadcasters.
A “public service algorithm” would prioritise trusted, informative and entertaining content over purely commercial engagement.Spider-Man continues to thrive: A fifth weekend at $19M, which would get the movie to close to $900M overall by Sunday. A gigantic win.
Is the truth important?: The former editor-in-chief of Bloomsbury has said that fact-checking “doesn’t really apply” when it comes to publishing memoirs. Alexandra Pringle said that a memoir is a personal story by an author, not a strict historical record.
Disney now in business with Pokemon: The agreement combines one of the world’s most powerful entertainment franchises with huge global streaming distribution. This could be a game-changer for the kids market.
Nanny McPhee flying into the West End: Emma Thompson's Nanny McPhee stage musical (book by Thompson, music by Gary Clark, directed by Katy Rudd) confirmed for a Summer 2027 London premiere.
Netflix hits major UK moment: The streamer has posted £2.06B revenues for full-year 2025, meaning it generated more cash than the country’s leading commercial broadcaster, ITV, and is ahead of Channel 4 (£1B) and 5 (£318M). The BBC does not account in the same way.
Return of Top Gear: The BBC has announced the comeback of one of its most successful global formats after a four-year hiatus due to Freddie Flintoff’s injury. Hosts to be announced soon.
…and Blind Date: InterTalent’s Maura Higgins will host the revamped Blind Date for Disney+, to air in 2027. As with the original format, contestants must choose between three potential suitors, hidden from view behind the legendary Blind Date wall… but expect lots of new twists and turns.
CULTURE & CREATIVITY:
Meta hit with $17B: Meta settles child safety case for up to $17 billion. This will force major changes to how Meta manages teen safety, parental controls and age verification across its platforms.
YouTube & Amazon join up for shopping platform: Their new integration allows eligible US creators to sell Amazon products directly through videos.
Stopping AI on LinkedIn: LinkedIn says 1M people reported AI slop within the first two weeks of introducing the button.
Is TikTok becoming PayPal?: The platform is reportedly developing a feature that would allow peer-to-peer payments via DMs.
WhatsApp Upgrades: WhatsApp is testing a feature that allows channel admins to schedule updates.
Patreon freshens up: Patreon launches new creator features which are very reminiscent of TikTok (short-form feature called Clips) and Substack (quoting snippets of long-form articles)
Free subscribers receive The Dealmakers Playbook 🚀 & Weekly Industry News 🗞️.
A paid subscription gets you:
✓ LOTS more talent agent insight with Ask The Agent 🧠
✓ My Q&A with VIPs 💡 series with industry stars
✓ 50% off all of the Dealmakers Deal Sheets ✨
✓ PLUS the actual Secret Toolkits 🔥 I use daily to stay one step ahead
📥 Want to work together? For speaking, consulting, sponsorships, or general Dealmakers or InterTalent enquiries, email me at alex@intertalentgroup.com
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