TV’s biggest show, “American Idol,” is also its biggest moneymaker. No surprise there. But “Brothers and Sisters” and “Heroes”?
Yep — they’re also among TV’s top 10 biggest cash cows, according to forbes.com.
Using data provided by TNS Media Intelligence — a company that tracks ad spending — forbes.com calculated which shows are fetching the biggest bucks, based on ad revenue per half hour.
PHOTOS: TV’s Top 10 Biggest Cash Cows
In the case of “Idol,” which regularly averages over 25 million viewers, it’s a no-brainer. The show generates a whopping $14 million per hourlong episode.
“Idol” is followed by Fox stablemate “24,” which rakes in $7.4 million per-episode, based on its steep $366,000 pricetag for a 30-second ad.
Even though “24” averages less-than-half of “Idol’s” viewership, advertisers are paying for the show’s intangibles: its cachet and its demos (it’s particularly strong among male viewers).
ABC’s “Desperate Housewives” places third, generating $5.8 million per episode, while “Grey’s Anatomy” is fourth — raking in $5.4 million for each hour.
As you would imagine, shows like “Dancing With the Stars” and “Two and a Half Men” make the cut, based on their popularity, strong ratings and overall name recognition. As for lesser lights “Heroes” and “Brothers and Sisters” — not exactly ratings juggernauts or even critical darlings — there’s an explanation.
“A lot of times ad rates are based not only on the size of the audience but on the quality of the viewer — ‘Heroes’ and ‘Brothers and Sisters’ bring in affluent, hard-to-reach, young viewers,” says industry analyst Brad Adgate of Horizon Media.
“Advertisers pay premiums to reach that audience,” he says.
“These are quality-produced shows with lots of star power. ‘Brothers and Sisters’ has Sally Field, Rob Lowe and Calista Flockhart.
“And science fiction shows like ‘Heroes’ aren’t just a bastion of male viewers, as is widely believed,” Adgate says.
“They attract affluent, welleducated viewers.”
And, as forbes.com points out, 80 percent of advertising is sold prior to the TV season, usually during the network upfronts in May, when advertisers get their first look at a network’s fall programming schedule.
So, if a show like “Heroes” begins shedding viewers during the season, advertisers don’t get a discount.