Backlot
Backlot is a full-service location management agency connecting major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords, operating a portfolio of 898 properties across five North American territories and earning commissions on location licensing fees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2020
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Backlot does
Backlot is a full-service location management company and agency that connects major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords. Founded in 2020 by Darren Goldberg and Chris Marsh as a spin-off of Atlantic Pictures (launched 2007), the company operates a portfolio of 898 film-ready locations across five production territories: New York/New Jersey, Toronto, Georgia (Atlanta), Chicago, and Boston. Its primary service covers the entire transaction lifecycle — scouting, negotiations, agreements, facility requirements, and on-site representation — executed by a team of production veterans with prior credits at HBO, Showtime, Netflix, Paramount, CBS, NBC, and Amazon Studios. Backlot also offers production office and holding space rentals, and operates THE HUB, a wholly-owned subsidiary shared workspace for filmmakers and creative companies.
The company's underlying technology consists of a website-based location search platform with territory-based filtering and a portfolio management system for film-friendly properties, enabling productions to browse and submit wish lists for properties categorized by region and type (offices, event spaces, restaurants, residential, warehouses, unique spaces, hospital environments). The company has no native mobile app and no disclosed API. Backlot maintains an active Instagram presence (@wearebacklot) showcasing portfolio additions and production credits, and its website supports self-service inquiry workflows alongside its direct sales outreach.
Backlot operates a transaction-fee revenue model, earning a commission as a percentage of the location license fee paid by productions to property owners. Productions receive services free of charge, with Backlot's compensation derived entirely from property owner commissions. The company serves a hybrid two-sided market: on the demand side, major studios, streaming platforms, networks, and independent productions seeking filming locations; on the supply side, commercial real estate landlords seeking to monetize vacant or underutilized spaces through short-term production rentals. Headcount stands at 1-10 employees, with regional offices in New York, Toronto, Atlanta, Chicago, and Boston. The company is privately held with no disclosed external institutional funding, operating under parent company Atlantic Pictures.
Backlot firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Backlot
- Legal name
- Backlot
- Website
- https://wearebacklot.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2020
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Backlot is a full-service location management agency connecting major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords, operating a portfolio of 898 properties across five North American territories and earning commissions on location licensing fees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Backlot industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Film Location Services
- NAICS
- Business Support Services (5614)
- SIC
- Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Backlot & Exterior Lot Rental (MPADAIAB)
Keywords
Where Backlot is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices5 records
Markets served
Backlot business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Location Licensing Commission: Backlot charges a commission as a percentage of the location license fee paid to the property owner once an agreement is signed. Services to productions are provided free of charge, with Backlot's compensation derived entirely from property owner commissions.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels4 records
Backlot product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Backlot is a full-service location management company and agency that connects major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords. The company represents a portfolio of 898 properties across five territories (New York/New Jersey, Toronto, Georgia, Chicago, and Boston) and handles scouting, negotiations, agreements, on-site representation, and wrap-up for productions. Services to productions are free; Backlot earns a commission on the location license fee paid to the property owner.
Product overview
Backlot is a full-service location management company and agency that operates as a platform connecting major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords. The core offering consists of location management and agency services, production office space rentals, and filming locations across five territories (New York/New Jersey, Toronto, Georgia, Chicago, and Boston). The portfolio includes commercial properties, event spaces, residential buildings, and unique spaces. Additionally, Backlot offers THE HUB, a shared workspace for filmmakers, and a comprehensive six-phase property owner services program. The company facilitates all aspects of film location licensing from lead generation through project management and operations.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Location Management & Agency Services
- Production Office Space Rentals
- Filming Locations
- Property Owner Services
- THE HUB A shared workspace for filmmakers, managed by Backlot, tailored to the needs of production offices, writers rooms, and creative companies, operating under thehuboffice.com.
Quantifiable outcome
- Portfolio of 898 locations
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Backlot
Customer profileNamed customers15 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Backlot technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Backlot partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Atlantic PicturescoreAtlantic Pictures is Backlot's parent company, launched in 2007 and currently one of NYC's most active providers of production services to studios and networks. The company is also a prolific producer of video content for several of the largest commercial landlords in New York. Backlot was developed to bridge the gap between property owners' historical disinterest in catering to short-term production needs and the opportunities being missed on both sides of the business.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Backlot competitors and assessment
Company assessmentOthers
- ProductionHUB: ProductionHUB is an online directory and marketplace for production services and crew, including location scouts and facility providers. It is adjacent to Backlot as a connection point between productions and the broader production services ecosystem, though it does not curate a portfolio of commercial properties for film location licensing the way Backlot does.
- StudioBinder: StudioBinder is a production management software platform used by film and TV productions for scheduling, breakdowns, and location scouting workflows. It is adjacent to Backlot as a technology provider serving the same enterprise production customers, though it sells software rather than location services and competes more for the location scout's toolset than for the actual location transaction.
- The Location Guide: The Location Guide is an international database and resource for filming locations and production support services across global territories. It relates to Backlot as a parallel provider of location discovery and information for film/TV productions, though it functions more as a reference library and listings directory than a full-service agency with property management capabilities.
Direct peers
- Peerspace: Peerspace is a marketplace for booking hourly event and production spaces across thousands of venues. It overlaps with Backlot in facilitating location bookings for film, TV, and event productions, though Peerspace's breadth is broader (events, meetings, off-sites) and its supply side is peer-to-peer rather than the curated commercial landlord model Backlot operates.
- Giggster: Giggster operates a peer-to-peer marketplace connecting film, photo, and event productions with unique filming locations from homeowners and property owners. It is a direct peer because, like Backlot, it facilitates location licensing transactions between property owners and productions, though Giggster skews toward smaller-scale and short-term bookings while Backlot focuses on enterprise productions and commercial real estate.
- Splacer: Splacer was a peer-to-peer marketplace for unique event and production spaces before being acquired by Peerspace. It was a direct peer to Backlot in matching productions and event organizers with non-traditional venues, with comparable target customer base among filmmakers, photographers, and event producers seeking distinctive locations.
- Set Scouter: Set Scouter is a location marketplace that lists film, TV, and photography locations from individual property owners and managers. It is comparable to Backlot as another marketplace-driven approach to brokering locations between property owners and productions, though at a smaller scale and with a more fragmented supply base than Backlot's curated commercial landlord portfolio.
Broad incumbents
- Steiner Studios: Steiner Studios is the largest film and television production facility outside of Hollywood, located in the Brooklyn Navy Yard with extensive soundstages and support space. It is comparable to Backlot as a major NYC production space provider, though its business model centers on owned purpose-built production real estate rather than brokering commercial landlord properties for location licensing.
- Kaufman Astoria Studios: Kaufman Astoria Studios is a historic NYC production complex with soundstages, production offices, and the Kaufman Astoria Stages backlot. It overlaps with Backlot's NYC territory as an incumbent provider of production-ready locations and stages, though its portfolio is owned real estate rather than a managed marketplace of third-party landlord properties.
- Silvercup Studios: Silvercup Studios is a long-established NYC film and television production facility operating soundstages, production offices, and a backlot in Long Island City. It competes with Backlot indirectly by offering production-ready spaces, though its model is ownership of purpose-built stages rather than brokering commercial properties, and it serves a broader set of production needs beyond location sourcing.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses3 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Backlot social profiles
Digital presenceBacklot financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Backlot leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Backlot subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Backlot funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Backlot M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Backlot
What does Backlot do?
Backlot is a full-service location management company and agency that connects major film and television productions with commercial real estate landlords. The company represents a portfolio of 898 properties across five territories (New York/New Jersey, Toronto, Georgia, Chicago, and Boston) and handles scouting, negotiations, agreements, on-site representation, and wrap-up for productions. Services to productions are free; Backlot earns a commission on the location license fee paid to the property owner.
Is Backlot a public or private company?
Backlot is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Backlot founded?
Backlot was founded in 2020. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Backlot based?
Backlot is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Backlot make money?
One revenue line is on record: location Licensing Commission.
Who are Backlot's main competitors?
Others on record are ProductionHUB, StudioBinder and The Location Guide. Direct peers are Peerspace, Giggster, Splacer and Set Scouter. Broad incumbents are Steiner Studios, Kaufman Astoria Studios and Silvercup Studios.
Does Backlot have an API?
No public API is recorded for Backlot.
What industry is Backlot in?
Backlot's product category is Film Location Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPADAIAB, Backlot & Exterior Lot Rental. Its NAICS code is 5614 and its SIC code is 7819.