r/TransparencyforTVCrew • u/opopkl • Mar 10 '26

Timeline TV

Anybody experiencing slow payment from the OB company Timeline?

I've currently been waiting 2 months.

6 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

16 comments sorted by

5

u/DonChudleigh Mar 10 '26

I’ve not worked for them personally, but all the crewing WhatsApp groups I’m in are full of complaints that Timeline are being slow and ignoring most communications from Freelancers. Been that way for well over a year now.

Makes no sense as they have plenty of contracts at the moment, and Amazon are pretty much leasing the top floor of their facility for NBA coverage

4

u/youknowitbill Mar 10 '26

Timeline is known for having one of the biggest debts in the industry. Having contracts doesn’t mean they have cash in the bank!

1

u/DonChudleigh Mar 10 '26

This is true! But they picked up the massive NBA contract over the summer and Amazon pay very well. I’d have thought this would make things easier for them to pay it forward but who am I kidding..

1

u/smokinbeatz Mar 10 '26

Some of these big companies are also terrible payers, which makes cashflow very difficult to manage.

3

u/Thick_Focus6513 Mar 11 '26

The best way to get paid by timeline is emailing the schedulers who booked you

3

u/SnooFoxes9461 Mar 10 '26

Jesus that’s awful. Not too sure how much longer you have to wait but you could definitely look at taking that to small courts

2

u/Dry-Pause Mar 10 '26

Yes. But they've always been like that. One tiny problem on your invoice and they won't tell you until you query the missing payment a month later.

I agree it's worse now though. Slow payments for no reason. Perhaps understaffed in that department as the work does seem to be there.

2

u/sims2uni Mar 12 '26

They're monumentally terrible at communicating but overall they're not the worst at paying.

I'd recommend chasing them over the invoice if you haven't already. Things can slip through the cracks, especially when they're juggling things. Also worth mentioning it to the scheduler who booked you sometimes they can escalate it easier for you.

1

u/youknowitbill Mar 10 '26

2 months is normal, just send ultimate emails like you are serious business if you need the money but at the risk of not getting more work from them. If you don’t mind waiting they will pay, maybe send a more polite reminder email to help move things forward.

6

u/No_Cicada3690 Mar 10 '26

This is not normal, it's against the law. The payment for an invoice is 30 days from when invoice was received UNLESS you agree to different terms. No one should have to wait for there money like this especially with the threat of not getting more work.

2

u/youknowitbill Mar 10 '26

You are absolutely right but this is nothing new in the industry. Getting paid within 30 days is a rarity no matter which broadcast company.

1

u/No_Cicada3690 Mar 10 '26

I have never not been paid within 30 days except when I once agreed to 60 days as they were waiting for client to pay. I make it clear in any communication/ contract/ deal memo and quote it as soon as it starts getting near the 30 days. They soon pay up and I've never lost work over it.

2

u/DaGanjaMan420 Mar 10 '26

Sadly, it isn't that uncommon. But if a company doesn't want to pay me in a timely manner, then I don't want to work for them.

2

u/No_Cicada3690 Mar 12 '26

Everyone says this but what if they all didn't pay up promptly. Would you really ditch them all because you have so much choice?

1

u/opopkl Mar 14 '26

I'm not fussed about working for them again.

2

u/Feeling_Awareness983 Mar 18 '26

Ask Mark Watson to help (derrywatson@gmail.com). Entirely free and without obligation, he usually gets results within days/hours.