Exhibits, Shows and Displays

How do television shows afford their actors among other things?

Like for awhile a lot of these shows were aired for FREE. So how do producers and such afford paying these people the millions that they do. I understand when a show goes to DVD then sure, but that doesn't happen in the beginning or even near the middle of the shows life and just dvd sales don't account for the massive amounts of money actors get. And what's with these cheap reality shows shelling out millions of dollars to contestants? How do they afford that? Where does their funding come from and how are investors paid back?

Public Comments

1. The networks pay the producers/studios that make the shows. The networks then sell commerical time to advertisers who sometimes pay hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, for as little as a 15 or 30 second spot/commerical. Trust me, they make A LOT of money. They also make money on product placements within the show (like a character drinking Pepsi or Coke). DVD's sales are just icing on the cake, so to speak. These cheap reality shows can shell out millions of dollars the same way. Networks buy the rights to air the shows, then sell advertising.
2. the main purpose tv and radio was created is not for Entertainment reasons it`s advertising and advertisers pay loads of money to tv and radio to run ads and those ads are expensive so that is how these "actors" make so much money. if you ask me they are over paid
3. drugs! didnt you know?
4. The Commericals! they pay for most of it- commericals are not Cheap to get on the air on -a top rated show like American Idol ONE 30 second Commerical can cost the Advertisers $600,000 ! ( the superbowl commericals often cost more than 1 Million Dollars to air) examples of prime time TV ad rates can be found here ( 2006-2007) 2006-2007 Prime Time TV Season 30 Sec Ad Rates NOTE: info in this chart below was gleaned from Advertising Age. The cost of a 30-second spot is based on early estimates of pricing information from the network, though some marketers pay significantly less -- around $550,000 -- depending on their overall commitment to the show and to Fox. For instance, Advertising Age's exclusive price data last year found TV buyers paying around $496,000 for a Tuesday-night spot. Prices also rise as the season comes to an end in May 2007; some advertisers will pay more than $700,000 as the finale nears.
5. Studios get paid for advertising. Every company that wants to show a commercial during that show pays thousands (or, if the ratings are high enough, millions) of dollars