When a television film is sold to a network, it's sold for a licensing fee that generally does not cover the entire budget (NBC, for example, may pay $2.8 million to license a film that costs $3 million). The difference, or deficit, must be covered by a deficit financier who the network knows can deliver the film at the budget and quality level it demands. In exchange for taking this risk, the deficit financier retains the non-network rights to the film (including syndication rights, foreign rights, video rights, etc.).

The method used by a government to finance its budget deficit, that is, to cover the difference between its tax receipts and its expenditures. The main choices are to issue bonds or to print money. The assumption that a change in government spending or taxes will be financed by a change in the government budget deficit, rather than by an accomodating additional change in spending or taxes to keep the budget balanced. Example: a "deficit-financed increase in government purchases."

A situation in which the Federal government's excess of outlays over receipts for a given period is financed by borrowing from the public.