![[assets/mediahedge-banner.jpg|1000]] # MediaHedge Knowledgebase This guide explains how MediaHedge evaluates film and television financing, protects capital during production and works with financing partners through repayment. Start with your question and follow the links for more detail. ## Start Here - **New to Film Finance?** Begin with [[wiki/overview|How the Lending Model Works]], keep the [[wiki/glossary|Plain-English Glossary]] nearby, then explore the [[wiki/syntheses/repayment-and-risk-map|Repayment and Risk Map]]. - **Evaluating a Financing?** Meet [[wiki/entities/mediahedge|MediaHedge and FilmHedge]], then follow the eight questions in the [[wiki/syntheses/financier-diligence-route|Financier's Guide]]. - **Closing or Production Counsel?** Follow the [[wiki/concepts/security-package|Security Package]], [[wiki/concepts/cash-control-and-waterfalls|Cash Control]] and [[wiki/concepts/forward-flow-governance|Financing-Partner Governance]] trail. - **Monitoring a Troubled Project?** Start with the [[wiki/concepts/protection-stack|Protection Stack]], then read [[wiki/concepts/monitoring-and-servicing|Monitoring and Servicing]] and [[wiki/concepts/defaults-workouts-and-recoveries|Defaults, Workouts and Recoveries]]. For a wider view, compare the [[wiki/syntheses/media-finance-lending-landscape|Market Participants]] or explore the visual [[wiki/syntheses/site-navigator|Site Navigator]]. > [!note] Public Framework > The reader website summarizes the controls qualitatively. The intentionally public GitHub repository and its history also contain legacy internal briefs and numerical examples; those are historical evidence, not a statement of current approved policy. Current approved policy and executed transaction documents govern each financing. ![[assets/diagrams/credit-journey.svg|Conceptual diagram of the MediaHedge credit journey from financeability through portfolio reporting]] *Conceptual view: each stage produces evidence and a decision, while current policy and transaction documents control any specific financing.* ## Questions a Financing Partner May Ask | Question | Where to begin | | --- | --- | | Can the production reach completion and delivery? | [[wiki/concepts/full-financing\|Full Financing]] | | Which market participant provides capital or bears each risk? | [[wiki/syntheses/media-finance-lending-landscape\|Media Finance Lending Landscape]] | | What is expected to repay the loan? | [[wiki/syntheses/repayment-and-risk-map\|Repayment and Risk Map]] | | How do contracted pre-sales differ from unsold-rights value? | [[wiki/concepts/pre-sales-collateral\|Pre-Sales Collateral]] and [[wiki/concepts/gap-collateral\|Gap Collateral]] | | How is the loan amount determined? | [[wiki/concepts/loan-sizing\|Loan Sizing]] | | How are production incentives evaluated? | [[wiki/concepts/tax-credit-collateral\|Tax-Credit Collateral]] | | How are the assets and incoming cash protected? | [[wiki/concepts/security-package\|Security Package]] and [[wiki/concepts/cash-control-and-waterfalls\|Cash Control]] | | Which instrument protects completion, casualty or payment risk? | [[wiki/concepts/completion-protection\|Completion Protection]], [[wiki/concepts/production-insurance\|Production Insurance]] and [[wiki/concepts/surety-credit-protection\|Surety and Credit Protection]] | | How is a loan managed after closing? | [[wiki/concepts/monitoring-and-servicing\|Monitoring and Servicing]] | | What happens when a project runs into trouble? | [[wiki/concepts/defaults-workouts-and-recoveries\|Defaults, Workouts and Recoveries]] | | How are investor rights and decisions governed? | [[wiki/concepts/forward-flow-governance\|Financing-Partner Governance]] | | How are concentration and return evaluated? | [[wiki/concepts/portfolio-construction\|Portfolio Construction]] and [[wiki/concepts/financier-return-economics\|Return Economics]] | ## Follow the Financing Journey The [[wiki/syntheses/credit-lifecycle|Film-Finance Credit Lifecycle]] follows a loan from the first screen through underwriting, closing, servicing, recovery and portfolio reporting. For a quicker comparison of repayment sources, open the [[wiki/syntheses/repayment-and-risk-map|Repayment and Risk Map]]. For the major sizing, approval and operating gates, use the [[wiki/syntheses/policy-rails-and-control-matrix|Policy and Control Guide]]. ## Explore the Model ### Understand the Market - [[wiki/syntheses/media-finance-lending-landscape|Media Finance Lending Landscape]] — how banks, specialty lenders, private credit, insurers and completion guarantors differ. ### Build a Financeable Loan - [[wiki/concepts/full-financing|Full Financing]] — why all costs and timing must work through delivery. - [[wiki/concepts/loan-sizing|Loan Sizing]] — how eligible value and the tightest limit determine exposure. - [[wiki/concepts/pre-sales-collateral|Pre-Sales Collateral]] — how an executed minimum guarantee becomes an eligible net receivable. - [[wiki/concepts/gap-collateral|Gap Collateral]] — how unsold-rights value receives limited, market-dependent credit. - [[wiki/concepts/tax-credit-collateral|Tax-Credit Collateral]] — how production incentives become potential repayment value. ### Protect the Capital - [[wiki/concepts/protection-stack|Protection Stack]] — how different safeguards address different risks. - [[wiki/concepts/completion-protection|Completion Protection]] — how a guarantor may preserve the path to delivery. - [[wiki/concepts/surety-credit-protection|Surety and Credit Protection]] — how a specifically bonded obligation may receive targeted support. - [[wiki/concepts/security-package|Security Package]] — how rights to assets and proceeds are established. - [[wiki/concepts/cash-control-and-waterfalls|Cash Control and Waterfalls]] — how collections reach the right accounts in the right order. - [[wiki/concepts/production-insurance|Production Insurance]] — what coverage contributes and where its limits begin. ### Manage Change and Downside - [[wiki/concepts/monitoring-and-servicing|Monitoring and Servicing]] — how changing facts become timely decisions. - [[wiki/concepts/defaults-workouts-and-recoveries|Defaults, Workouts and Recoveries]] — how options and value are preserved during stress. ### Build a Durable Financing Partnership - [[wiki/concepts/forward-flow-governance|Financing-Partner Governance]] — how authority, ownership and servicing responsibilities are divided. - [[wiki/concepts/portfolio-construction|Portfolio Construction]] — how shared risks and liquidity are managed across investments. - [[wiki/concepts/financier-return-economics|Return Economics]] — how actual cash timing, costs and losses affect realized performance. ## Federal Film and Television Tax Rules - [[wiki/concepts/section-168k-film-tv-deductions|Section 168(k): Film and Television Deductions]] - [[wiki/concepts/proposed-federal-film-tv-credit|Proposed Federal Film and Television Credit]] ## U.S. Production Incentives Start with the U.S. guide, compare cash routes, then open a state profile. The eight profiles have a scoped October 6, 2026 official-source review; the linked report provides broader coverage. - [[wiki/syntheses/us-film-tax-incentives|U.S. Film and Television Tax Incentives]] - [[wiki/concepts/incentive-monetization|Turning Production Incentives into Cash]] - [[wiki/entities/california-film-incentives|California Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/georgia-film-incentives|Georgia Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/illinois-film-incentives|Illinois Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/louisiana-film-incentives|Louisiana Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/massachusetts-film-incentives|Massachusetts Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/new-jersey-film-incentives|New Jersey Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/new-mexico-film-incentives|New Mexico Film and Television Incentives]] - [[wiki/entities/new-york-film-incentives|New York Film and Television Incentives]] ## Recent Changes Read [[wiki/what-changed|What Changed]] for the latest underwriting, terminology and reader-guidance updates. ## Understand the Boundaries Read [[wiki/evidence-and-limitations|Evidence and Limitations]] for a clear explanation of what this knowledgebase establishes, what remains subject to current policy or transaction documents, and what a financing partner should verify independently. This knowledgebase is educational. Current approved policy, executed transaction documents and qualified legal, tax, insurance and program advice control any specific financing decision. ## FilmHedge Research and Illustrated Reports Explore the [[wiki/syntheses/filmhedge-research-library|FilmHedge Research Library]] for five reports on production incentives, finance plans, private credit and lender outcomes. Start with the [illustrated 2026 tax-guide article](https://medium.com/filmhedge/film-tax-incentives-2026-state-guide-19f52ed2d437), or browse [all FilmHedge reports](https://filmhedge.com/reports). Report visuals appear beside the relevant wiki topics, including the [[wiki/syntheses/us-film-tax-incentives#A Map of Payment Routes|State Payment-Route Map]], [[wiki/concepts/incentive-monetization#Follow the Cash Routes|Incentive Cash Routes]] and [[wiki/syntheses/filmhedge-research-library#Read the Credit Study Charts|Credit Study Coverage]]. Dates, conditional program rules and study limits travel with each visual. Research links checked: 2026-10-07. Other review dates retain their stated scope. ## Continue Exploring [[wiki/syntheses/site-navigator|Open the Site Navigator]] · [[wiki/syntheses/financier-diligence-route|Follow the Financier’s Guide]] · [[wiki/syntheses/credit-lifecycle|Trace the Credit Lifecycle]]