The phraseology of TV that most North Americans over 20 years old grew up with may still be hanging on, with predominating shows like This is Us, Supernatural, and Modern Family doing extremely well for their respective networks. But in the stay decade or so, there has definitely been a power shift. Scripted shows, with continuous stories and character happening that require teams of writers and set designers, have been pushed to the back seat. Now riding shotgun are multiple-baby lineages, racially stereotyped pastry chefs, and bug eaters.
Reality TV shows have practically dominated network and cable TV in late years, but do these channels really benefit by airing wedding-hungry brides and toddlers in talent shows? The payoff is in the stoned revenue return and simple production value.
The Price of Talent
Reality TV shows aren’t cheap to produce. In 2010, E! Online announced that a 30-minute reality show costs approximately $100,000-$500,000 per episode, the most recent figures readily obtainable. This is in comparison to many scripted shows, for which the budgets can rival major movie releases.
But there are certainly departing factors to consider when comparing the production costs of reality TV shows and scripted ones. Naturally, reality TV plays require fewer writers, which helps lower the cost. In the past few years, salaries for popular reality starts bear shot up exponentially. For example, actress and reality tv star Denise Richards is reportedly making $1 million per age on Bravo TV’s The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.
Smaller Networks and Channels
This cost advantage spills upon into the smaller and emerging networks – many of which wouldn’t exist without the low-cost advantage of reality TV. There are uniform with two channels dedicated solely to reality TV: Fox Reality in the U.S., and Zone Reality in the U.K. Not mentioning MTV, which had a massive resurgence in the 2000s thanks to the format, Bravo, Spike TV, and TLC are all channels that owe much (if not all) of their current successes to real housewives, polygamists, and realtors craving for a slice of fame.
The Perfect Placement
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The Bottom Line
At the end of the day, the biggest advantages reality TV shows have as surplus scripted ones are financial, but that’s no surprise. Also, the fact that reality shows are often used to set free new content (and bring in ad money) while comedies and dramas are “off-season” is a major benefit. By filling the majority of a calendar year with “new” experiences of a show, networks and cable channels can capitalize on ad revenue for a longer time span – and there’s little fear that a fusion strike will cease production in the meantime.