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Documentary distribution online.
Routes, rights and what each one pays.
A documentary usually has an audience before it has a distributor: the people in the film, the communities it is about, the organisations that care about the subject. That makes documentaries unusually well suited to selling some rights directly while licensing others. This guide maps the routes and how to combine them without breaking a contract.
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By uncompressed.io · Updated October 2026
Short answer
How are documentaries distributed online today?
Through several routes at once, split by territory and date. A documentary typically goes festivals first, then licenses to distributors or broadcasters where they want it, uses an aggregator for the large stores, and sells directly to its own community in the territories nobody bought.
- Festivals first, kept private until the run is settled
- Distributors and broadcasters license specific territories
- Aggregators place the film on large stores for a share
- Direct sale reaches the film's own community
- Country rules let you sell only where you hold rights
- Direct sale on uncompressed.io: 0% commission
The routes
Four ways a documentary reaches viewers
side by side
Each route is good at something. The mistake is choosing one; the skill is sequencing them so none blocks another.
Filmhub figure from its own help centre, read 12 October 2026; Filmhub says exclusive arrangements are negotiated case by case. Card processing applies to direct sales. The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month.
Rights
Split by territory and window
so deals do not collide
Distribution rights are a grid: which countries, which kind of exploitation (streaming, TV, educational, download), and for how long. A documentary can sell directly in one cell while a distributor holds another.
Territory
A broadcaster may buy one country only. Sell directly everywhere else, and use country rules to block the territories under contract.
Window
A distributor may ask for a holdback, a period where you do not sell. Block the countries it covers in your shop for the dates in writing, then open them again when it ends.
Type of use
Educational and community screening licences are separate from home viewing. Price them separately; a school library is not a single viewer.
Before you open a shop
Direct sale
What to offer your own audience
for a documentary
0%
Platform commission
on uncompressed.io purchases, rentals and memberships
80%
Filmhub to filmmaker
of what Filmhub receives from channels
70%
YouTube memberships
creator's share of net membership revenue
Documentary audiences buy for a reason beyond entertainment: they want the film to exist and the next one to be made. Offer a rental for the curious, a purchase for supporters who want to keep it, and a download for educators who screen it offline. If you make several films on a subject, a yearly membership that gives access to the whole collection, plus the extended interviews that did not make the cut, turns one-time buyers into supporters.
A free preview cut lets a viewer judge the film before paying. Coupon codes give partner organisations a discount for their members, and the analytics hub shows which partner's link brought the buyers. For premieres you would hate to see on a torrent site, Leak Shield (USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year) gives every buyer their own invisibly marked copy, so a leak can be traced to the buyer. It reduces risk and makes leaks traceable; it cannot guarantee a film never leaks.
uncompressed.io for creators, in one table
Read from the live price list. Verified 2026-10.
| Commission on sales | 0 percent, at any volume. Buyers pay into your own payment account; your card processor's fee applies. |
|---|---|
| What you can sell | Purchases (stream forever), downloads, rentals with a viewing window, memberships with monthly or yearly tiers, bundles and series. |
| Member tools | Free trials per tier, coupon codes, gift memberships, refunds and free access from your earnings page. |
| Your storefront | A shop under your name at yourname.uncompressed.io/on-demand, or on your own domain. Buyers need no account. |
| Picture quality | Films stream as you exported them: no re-encode of video or audio, with an optional lighter copy for slow connections. |
| Viewing hours included | Lite 1,000, Pro 5,000, Max 15,000, Studio 25,000 hours a month, then USD 29 per extra 20,000-hour block. Playback never pauses. |
| Plans | Starter free (5 GB, one film at a time); Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month; yearly is one month free. |
| Leak Shield (optional) | Every buyer gets their own invisibly marked copy; the open web and torrent indexes are searched; a confirmed leak names and blocks the buyer and sends the takedown. USD 99 a month or USD 1,188 a year, any paid plan. |
| Inclusion window | The streaming platform is included with every paid plan for members who switch it on before 31 December 2026, and stays included for them afterwards; after that date new activations add USD 39 a month. |
Plans and add-ons: pricing. The whole cluster starts at the creator platform guide.
Sequence
A practical order
from festival to library
Festival run, private
Send screeners with private links. Keep the film off public sale until festival rules no longer apply.
License what sells
Take the distributor or broadcaster deals that pay, and record each territory and date.
Open direct sale
Sell in every territory you still hold, with a preview, a rental, a purchase and a download price.
Add the aggregator
Place the film on large stores for viewers outside your community, if it does not conflict with any exclusive deal.
Who this is not for: if a distributor offers a worldwide all-rights deal with a guarantee you are happy with, take it and skip direct sale. Direct sale is for the rights nobody bought, and for the audience that wants to pay you directly. For pricing a single film, see sell your film online.
Questions
Frequently asked
How do I distribute a documentary online?
Most documentaries combine routes: a festival run first, then a broadcaster or distributor for the territories that want it, an aggregator for the large stores, and direct sale from the filmmaker's own page for everything left over, often the film's own community. The key is to keep track of which rights, territories and dates each deal covers.
What does a documentary aggregator take?
It varies by company. Filmhub's help centre, read 12 October 2026, says filmmakers receive 80% of what Filmhub receives from the channels that show the title, which means Filmhub keeps 20% of the channel's payment, not of the viewer's price.
Can I sell my documentary directly and still sign with a distributor?
Often yes, if the deal is not exclusive for the territory or window you sell in. Geo-restriction lets you sell only in countries where you still hold the rights, and you can stop selling in a country when a deal starts there. Read every agreement for exclusivity, holdbacks and territory before opening a shop.
Is direct sale worth it for a documentary?
When the film has a community of its own, yes: advocacy groups, schools, subjects' networks and festival audiences. Every direct buyer pays you and leaves an email address you can reach for the next film. Without an audience, an aggregator will usually reach more viewers.
Where should a documentary premiere online?
Wherever your festival and distribution agreements allow. Many festivals restrict public availability before they screen a film, so keep the film private until your festival run is settled.
Sell your documentary where your audience already is.
Start free with 5 GB. Purchases, rentals, memberships and country rules come with every paid plan (Lite USD 9, Pro USD 39, Max USD 99, Studio USD 219 a month), with 0% commission.
Sources
- 1.Filmhub revenue share, Filmhub help centre (read 12 October 2026)
- 2.Filmhub distribution deal types, Filmhub help centre (read 12 October 2026)
- 3.YouTube partner earnings overview (read 12 October 2026)