Media Derivatives, a project owned by Veriana Networks, has applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for permission to offer an “electronic exchange for contracts based on box office movie revenues”.
That makes it the second company bidding for a space in this virgin market. US broker Cantor Fitzgerald applied to the CFTC in December 2008 to launch Cantor Exchange, a bourse that would list “domestic box office receipt contracts”.
Cantor is still waiting for regulatory approval but recently told Futures and Options Intelligence that it expected to receive the all-clear in the coming weeks (see FOi’s report at: http://www.fointelligence.com/Article/2307428/Theres-no-business-like-movie-box-office-futures.html)
Many novel ideas have been tried for applying financial techniques to Hollywood, many of which have ended in failure – often because financial specialists have underestimated the riskiness and unpredictability of the movie production business. Yet derivatives may stand a chance of...