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Charlatan · 10-19-2004, 12:24 PM

Love it or hate it Reality TV is here to stay.

I sell television programming around the world and can speak with authority when I say that Reality is a worldwide success. There are couple of very important reasons why reality is sucking up so much of the prime time schedule...

1) It is cheap to produce. It can be anywhere from 25% to 75% of the budget it costs to make a primetime drama
2) It rates incredibly well... people are watching.
3) Because of point one, foreign broadcasters are now able to fill their schedules with indigenous programming... viewers who are typically fed a diet of American (or other foreign) shows can now watch programming with people from their own countries and cultures...

The other interesting thing about reality television is that it isn't a genre per se. It isn't lifestyle, action, drama, etc. It can be all of these things and more. It can shift with the trend of the day.

The best example I have is this:
A producer was trying to get a documentary about Twins commisioned by a UK broadcaster. He couldn't get it made. However, when one of the commisioning editors suggested that it become a contest to find, "The Perfect Twin" it got a greenlit. In the end, the show was going to have all of the factual information that the original documentary planned to have... the only difference was that the delivery was more "commercially acceptable".

What many Americans don't know is that in some territories (i.e. the UK and Germany) shows like Big Brother are on the air daily, in primetime. That is a huge chunk of primetime programming. It costs next to nothing to produce and rates incredibly well.

It is for all of these reasons that reality is here to stay.

10-19-2004, 12:24 PM	#24 (permalink)
Charlatan Getting it. Super Moderator Location: Lion City	Love it or hate it Reality TV is here to stay. I sell television programming around the world and can speak with authority when I say that Reality is a worldwide success. There are couple of very important reasons why reality is sucking up so much of the prime time schedule... 1) It is cheap to produce. It can be anywhere from 25% to 75% of the budget it costs to make a primetime drama 2) It rates incredibly well... people are watching. 3) Because of point one, foreign broadcasters are now able to fill their schedules with indigenous programming... viewers who are typically fed a diet of American (or other foreign) shows can now watch programming with people from their own countries and cultures... The other interesting thing about reality television is that it isn't a genre per se. It isn't lifestyle, action, drama, etc. It can be all of these things and more. It can shift with the trend of the day. The best example I have is this: A producer was trying to get a documentary about Twins commisioned by a UK broadcaster. He couldn't get it made. However, when one of the commisioning editors suggested that it become a contest to find, "The Perfect Twin" it got a greenlit. In the end, the show was going to have all of the factual information that the original documentary planned to have... the only difference was that the delivery was more "commercially acceptable". What many Americans don't know is that in some territories (i.e. the UK and Germany) shows like Big Brother are on the air daily, in primetime. That is a huge chunk of primetime programming. It costs next to nothing to produce and rates incredibly well. It is for all of these reasons that reality is here to stay. __________________ "My hands are on fire. Hands are on fire. Ain't got no more time for all you charlatans and liars." - Old Man Luedecke Last edited by Charlatan; 10-19-2004 at 12:28 PM..