How do Soap Operas make money?

[JYM]

I've been thinking about this for a while and did a quick google search but I couldn't find any answers, so I decided to turn to the NP community for help

This question has been bugging me for so long, how DO soap operas make money? I mean most of them are available on popular channels, and I can bet they probably pay the channel (like ABC or whatever) to actually show their show... so how do they make money?

 

[Humdizzy]

The networks pick up the shows. The networks pay for the shows to keep running and the networks get the money from commercials and specials like the super bowl where the network gets paid to host the show.

 

[NPQueen]

The soap opera "All My Children" in the USA actually has a line of products that come from the show. Perfume, jewelry etc. The same show also recently did a week long story line that involved fundraising for The American Red Cross and the Katrina victims.

 

[squdgy]

You know, I've always wondered the same thing. With as many cast members as they have, and there must be quite a sizeable production crew, the cost of producting a Soap Opera has to be pretty high, and it's hard to imagine that the commercials run during them can pay the salaries. It must be the networks picking up the extra cost. Soap Opera viewership is way down, and there are fewer of them than there used to be. I think the only reason they're still around is that there isn't enough other daytime filler, and the loyal soap viewers are very loyal.

 

[JYM]

I was actually talking more about the evening soap operas like... for instance the OC. Some stunts and stuff that happen seem like it would cost quite a bit to actually perform... so I doubt just commercial and network costs could cover all the filming, stunts, and salaries?

 

[spy69]

Im dont know about the day time operas make money, but OC is pretty popular, with many viewers.

 

[RajanUrs]

I dont know the deal by the media companies with the producers but the final profits is mostly from commercials. For the media companies the bottom line will be the total profits from the commericials from all their soaps and other broadcasts. So some may make loss when the popularity is lowwhile others may simply average out some steady profits.

And there are producers that get sponsored by manufacturers to feature their product in the serial. For instance if a soap opera were to use a Porsche car which is highlighted in the show then it also serves as a product promotion.

 

[oliciv]

The TV stations pay for them. Don't underestimate how much a short TV advert costs to show during something popular

Then shows like the OC are syndiated around the world, so other TV networks in other countries pay for them too.

 

[LeetPCUser]

Don't the companies get money depending upon how many viewers watch the programs?

 

[oliciv]

Don't the companies get money depending upon how many viewers watch the programs?

More viewers will = more expensive adverts

 

[LeetPCUser]

Yes, because then they out rank the other stations at given time periods and steal more traffic. That makes sense.

 

[JYM]

More viewers will = more expensive adverts

How do they know how many viewers there are? I mean sure they can track down the number of people with the channel but who says they will watch the show?

But you guys are right, advertising probably pays all of it... sheesh in this world its like all the big companies make money off advertisement! Google for instance... their stock today was $363.xx, went up 11 points... and their main source of revenue is advertising.

 

[The Equivocate]

How do they know how many viewers there are? I mean sure they can track down the number of people with the channel but who says they will watch the show?

Nielsen is a company that does television ratings. A select sample of people across the country either keep a log of what they watch or have a special box on their cable to keep track of what they are watching. Each person doing this represents a certain percentage of the population, so they can derive stats from that. For example, here were the top shows for last week:
http://tv.yahoo.com/nielsen/.

From that, the higher the ratings are, the broader an audience is watching the show, meaning a commercial shown will reach more people. So, if Motorola wanted to advertise the new SLIVR, they'd want to do it on American Idol over ER. But because American Idol gets better ratings, they can charge more.

Of course with that example, you can start getting more detailed with target markets and demographics. More 18-24 year olds are more likely to watch American Idol over ER (and this is also measured by Nielsen ratings) so advertising a new "hip" cell phone might work better on American Idol over ER.

And in the case of OC, I'm sure they make a lot of money from syndication and DVD sales.

And if you want to look at regular soap operas during the day (the kind that stay-at-home moms would watch), their demographics are different and usually have a little more money to spend, so companies will pay more because they know they can charge more/make more on their product over a teen show.

 

[drifta]

its all about ads
a 30sec ad during the oscars costs something around 2million i heard a few days ago

 

[Peter]

Also remember that if it is a successful soap then other countries start picking up the show as well and they also pay for the pleasure.