After the recent episodes of American Idol hit its lowest ratings yet, the inevitable flurry of IDOL’S OVER YA’LL began in the gossip rags. Some of the reports claim that Idol is losing money, that high salaries paid to Ryan Seacrest and Jennifer Lopez will spell its doom, that the end is near!
The New York Daily News offers a different perspective, one that makes way more sense to me. While the musical talent show’s remaining seasons may be numbered, I’d bet my house it’s coming back for season 14.
American Idol’s revenues have shrunk, but it still makes money for FOX
But the notion that Seacrest, J.Lo or anyone else could bankrupt “Idol” is insane.
Sure, “Idol” doesn’t generate the ratings or stacks of cash it did during its heyday, like around 2005. Still, the show basically prints money — and remains among the top 10 most watched shows on TV.
“Idol” is on track to rake in around $578 million in ad revenue this season, according to Daily News calculations.
And that includes its two major sponsors, Coke and Ford, which have their brands integrated into the show. Their deals are estimated to be worth at least $10 million each, although network sources claim that figure is much greater.
Daily news crunches some numbers, to prove Idol isn’t in the red
The 56 hours of programming this season cost around $168 million to produce. For fun, let’s throw in Seacrest and J.Lo’s $30 million in combined salaries (their co-stars make much less). Even estimating all that into a price tag for putting the show on the air, “Idol” remains a money machine.
“And you have to take into account the larger ‘halo effect’ the show has on the rest of the company,” says an insider, someone familiar with the math ematics behind the singing competition.
That means the “Idol” brand brings real value to Fox, which uses the big platform to incess antly plug its other shows during each broadcast.
So, yeah…these recent reports of American Idol’s imminent demise are hyperbolic click bait. The show is down, but not out.
Read more at The New York Daily News
