Hour dramas face risky economics
The Hollywood Reporter has a nice article about the coasts of TV Dramas and the revenue they generate, compared to the What Jay Leno was doing in Primetime. Have a read of the article and let us know what you think.
NBC's scramble to fill the gaping Monday-to-Friday hole in its schedule left by the failed Jay Leno talk show is putting new focus on the economics of hour dramas, the traditional fare of the 10 p.m. time period.
On a spreadsheet, the math on "The Jay Leno Show" undoubtedly looked compelling to NBC Universal executives. Primetime dramas generate an average of $2.5 million-$3 million in advertising revenue (the range is $1.5 million-$6 million for a hit like Fox's "24
") against license fees of $1.5 million-$2 million an episode. Figure that a repeat airing might do one-third of the ad billings of the premiere, subtract 15% ad-agency commission, and the average drama might net one of the Big Four networks $1.3 million-$1.4 million in gross profit an episode -- as long as they don't have to cover the deficit.
"Leno" cost an estimated $400,000 an hour to produce, so even if it brought in only two-thirds the revenue of a drama, NBC would be ahead even before adding in savings from not having to develop replacement shows for failed hours in future seasons.
From a series producer's perspective, the economics of primetime dramas are about not losing too much money per episode and keeping the series on the air long enough (usually four seasons, or 88 episodes) so it can go into strip syndication. Production costs for Big Four scripted dramas are $2.5 million-$4 million, which means they carry deficits of $1 million-$2 million an episode. The good news is that, of late, the international market has been robust enough to cover most of the deficit and even put some shows into the black, with top hits raking in as much as $2.2 million an episode from all foreign territories combined.
Read the complete THR.com Articl by Larry Gerbrandt
NBC's scramble to fill the gaping Monday-to-Friday hole in its schedule left by the failed Jay Leno talk show is putting new focus on the economics of hour dramas, the traditional fare of the 10 p.m. time period.
On a spreadsheet, the math on "The Jay Leno Show" undoubtedly looked compelling to NBC Universal executives. Primetime dramas generate an average of $2.5 million-$3 million in advertising revenue (the range is $1.5 million-$6 million for a hit like Fox's "24
") against license fees of $1.5 million-$2 million an episode. Figure that a repeat airing might do one-third of the ad billings of the premiere, subtract 15% ad-agency commission, and the average drama might net one of the Big Four networks $1.3 million-$1.4 million in gross profit an episode -- as long as they don't have to cover the deficit."Leno" cost an estimated $400,000 an hour to produce, so even if it brought in only two-thirds the revenue of a drama, NBC would be ahead even before adding in savings from not having to develop replacement shows for failed hours in future seasons.
From a series producer's perspective, the economics of primetime dramas are about not losing too much money per episode and keeping the series on the air long enough (usually four seasons, or 88 episodes) so it can go into strip syndication. Production costs for Big Four scripted dramas are $2.5 million-$4 million, which means they carry deficits of $1 million-$2 million an episode. The good news is that, of late, the international market has been robust enough to cover most of the deficit and even put some shows into the black, with top hits raking in as much as $2.2 million an episode from all foreign territories combined.
Read the complete THR.com Articl by Larry Gerbrandt
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