Television syndication

In the television industry (as in radio), syndication is the sale of the right to broadcast programs to multiple stations, without going through a broadcast network. (Much of this article will deal with U.S. television, since the U.S. has more consistently than most other countries featured large numbers of independently owned stations which can, but do not need to, affiliate with one or more networks.)

Barter vs. Cash

In syndication, the program is sold to stations for "cash" (rights are purchased by the stations to insert some or all of the ads at their level), given to stations for access to airtime (wherein the syndicators get the ad revenue), or the combination of both. The trade of program for airtime is called "barter."

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