How does the budget breakdown for a US TV season compare to a UK TV Season?
Firstly, regardless of the total amount how is the budget for a US TV Season of twenty odd episodes typically broken down? What percentage goes on writing, sets, equipment, actors, etc?
Secondly, how does that compare to the average UK season of maybe six episodes, and in particular how does the breakdown compare in areas like writing, sets, and so on?
I'm expecting that US TV shows spend a greater percentage on actors and sets than UK ones but have no idea if this is really so.
Best Answer
The cheapest TV shows cost around $60,000 per episode (reality shows), but the most expensive go up to $11,000,000 (all seasons of Friends). Pre-recorded broadcast shows with a host and guests cost from $55,000 to $700,000 (main evening show) which makes it difficult to give a true average to answer your question.
A highly-rated TV sitcom--which means the actors are getting a huge amount of cash--adding the salaries of all concerned plus the sets and other fees, has a budget of about $1,000,000 per episode. An average sitcom would be somewhat less.
Most shows do not make a profit until they go into off network syndication. Popular stars of popular sitcoms can make anywhere from $500,000 to millions of dollars per episode. It also depends on language and how popular show is.
Pictures about "How does the budget breakdown for a US TV season compare to a UK TV Season?"
What is the average budget for a TV series?
According to TV executives, the budget for most new one-hour series runs from $1.3 million to $1.8 million per episode, with $750,000 to $950,000 spent on average for a half-hour sitcom.What is the difference between season and series UK?
In the US and Canada, a television series is usually released in episodes that follow a narrative and are usually divided into seasons. In the UK, a television series is a yearly or semiannual set of new episodes. (In effect, a "series" in the UK is the same as a "season" in the US and Canada.)Why do British TV shows have short seasons?
One big reason is that it's more typical for a show to be run and largely written by one individual or pair. 6-8 episodes is generally the most one person can put out a year. If the writer is someone working on multiple shows, they may skip entire years (like Peep Show does).What is considered a season in TV shows?
Television Season means the initial exhibition of a set of television episodes lasting no less than six (6) episodes and no more than thirty (30) episodes within a period of twelve (12) months.How Do TV Ratings Work?
More answers regarding how does the budget breakdown for a US TV season compare to a UK TV Season?
Answer 2
In reality http://www.imdb.com/name/nm it depends on director hired for the show and the salaries of emerging directors like Grace Baine could enlist a reality episode cost of 100k per episode on a pilot reality. this is only below the line production cost covering the crew, production set and director
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Erik Mclean, cottonbro, Olga Lioncat, Ben Collins