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Carriage agreements are a mainstay of legal professionals working in television, and Austin Gaddis has been managing those complex transactions since 2015. The associate vice president of legal at American entertainment distributor DIRECTV is well accustomed to working with stakeholders, both externally and internally, particularly when it comes to local broadcast deals with network affiliates like ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox.
Gaddis and his team are tasked with securing rights that span multiple regulations, jurisdictions, and platforms to transmit content to DIRECTV’s satellites—or through a streaming platform into the homes and businesses of its millions of customers. It’s not just satellites, though.
“We have to secure rights to transmit via our satellites in orbit, via the cables that run to our U-Verse customers and the fiber optic cables for our internet service,” Gaddis explains. “Those all have their own sets of rights, and you need a multitude of consents from the owners of those rights.”
Different Kinds of Rights
The complexity of this work, Gaddis admits, can be the bane of lawyers with deep television and broadcasting experience. But it’s his bread and butter. He got his start working carriage deals at startup Layer 3 TV in 2015. He was the third person hired for the fledgling legal team, and the startup environment meant he worked across far more of a broad spectrum than he might have experienced going in-house at a larger organization.
Navigating complex broadcasting rights wasn’t Gaddis’s plan coming out of law school. The Alabama native was initially intrigued with pursuing law, growing up in a state with a rich history of civil rights activism. Gaddis assumed his law practice would ultimately reflect this fascination and appreciation for people who spent decades, if not lifetimes, fighting for equal representation under the law.
“I’m the person at the table making sure that, from an alumni perspective, we’re considering individuals that might be forgotten about.”
Austin Gaddis
Gaddis interned at the United States Senate under now-retired Senator Jay Rockefeller (D, West Virginia). There, he was able to work on behalf of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and the Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, and the Internet.
“Senator Rockefeller was such a big champion for equal access to the internet, ensuring that schools and public libraries could provide those services and help close ‘the homework gap,’” Gaddis explains. “I also had a great boss on the committee staff who took me under his wing and allowed me in rooms with people from all different walks of life, discussing their positions on pending bills and different pieces of legislation. I absolutely loved it.”
To Be That Person
The young lawyer’s interest in Federal Communications Commission (FCC) matters ultimately pushed him toward television. However, Gaddis stayed close to issues that got him into law in the first place.
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community, Gaddis says he knows the struggle for marginalized communities persists. He came out during his undergrad and, at the time, he didn’t find opportunities to connect with the broader community. He wants a different world for members of the LGBTQ+ community who are now pursuing their education at the University of Alabama.
Gaddis is the current vice president for LGBTQ+ matters on the University of Alabama’s National Alumni Association, where he also sits on the association’s board of directors.
“I’m the person at the table making sure that, from an alumni perspective, we’re considering individuals that might be forgotten about,” the lawyer explains. “In Alabama, there is a lot of current and proposed legislation that aims to restrict the rights of trans students, and I want to be visible for them. I want to make sure that their voices are heard, and their rights are empowered. I wish I could have seen a leader like that when I was going to school, and I’m trying to be that person now.”
The Future of Entertainment
Back at Gaddis’s day job, the environment has never been more complex. After the initial so-called cord-cutting revolution of the mid-2010s, things have circled back around in a way that Gaddis says is somewhat common in the industry.
“We’re now seeing streaming services re-bundling, like the recent Disney+, Hulu, and Max deal,” Gaddis explains. “It’s interesting to see how the market has changed so quickly, but it’s equally as interesting how so much of this feels the same. I think there’s a unique opportunity that cable and satellite identified several decades ago that unifies content under a central platform. I think people are once again realizing the value of utilizing that central platform to access all your content.”
Gaddis is especially intrigued by the influx of high-profile streaming services going after the sports world. Netflix just announced it will be the home of the NFL’s Christmas Day football games, not to mention the securing of cable mainstay WWE Monday Night Raw to its platform.
While the future continues to get interesting, Gaddis says his role of working out the thorny details of local broadcast deals will probably get even thornier. But if that kind of work seems appealing, he strongly recommends signing up for as many newsletters that cover the space.
“You need to know what’s happening in real-time,” Gaddis explains. “What you see on Squawk Box in the morning can very easily inform what you’re doing at work today. Learn your industry and stay in touch.”
“We have worked with Austin on countless projects. He has an excellent grasp of complex issues and excels at communicating them effectively. He is also excellent at interacting and managing large business and legal teams. He is a great strategic thinker.”
–Olivier N. Antoine, Partner
