Damn. They better put out the a dvd with the quickness after this season. With a budget like that, we'll be lucky if they get to season 3. They can probably cut some costs by having all the attractive female characters naked.
So how does HBO make money on these shows if they're dishing out so much?
So how does HBO make money on these shows if they're dishing out so much?
MrONegative - Spot on. DVD sales and merchandising for franchise shows like The Sopranos, True Blood, Sex and the City are HUGE money makers as well. Most people never even caught on to The Wire until word of mouth boosted DVD sales.Originally Posted by MrONegative
How much do you think a TV show costs? Just about every drama on primetime is $1-2 mil an episode and those are regular everyday people.
With HBO, it doesn't matter how many people watch a show. It matters how much acclaim their shows get, and what different kind of people the show gets to subscribe to HBO. So Treme can stay on TV for years, because it gets a completely different kind of subscriber than Boardwalk Empire or Games or True Blood.
HBO makes money, because they, by themselves have the pull to get $15 bucks a month for only their channels.
The big networks don't have subscribers, they have affiliates, ads and advertisers. So every show has to fend for itself. That's why a show like Battlestar Galactica that had all that acclaim and hype almost got cancelled before it's last season, because it cost too much money. HBO is basically an indie film studio that doesn't have to worry about big opening weekends or distribution.
They like ratings, but they care more about subscribers.
My only thing with this show is...there's 5 books...and they keep getting bigger? And the guy's not done with the story yet?...so there could be 6 or 7 seasons and that's not even the end of the show? Iono if anyone could keep this on for a decade.Eventually whoever's watching it, is who's gonna watch it. And they'll have other ideas for that crowd.
MrONegative - Spot on. DVD sales and merchandising for franchise shows like The Sopranos, True Blood, Sex and the City are HUGE money makers as well. Most people never even caught on to The Wire until word of mouth boosted DVD sales.Originally Posted by MrONegative
How much do you think a TV show costs? Just about every drama on primetime is $1-2 mil an episode and those are regular everyday people.
With HBO, it doesn't matter how many people watch a show. It matters how much acclaim their shows get, and what different kind of people the show gets to subscribe to HBO. So Treme can stay on TV for years, because it gets a completely different kind of subscriber than Boardwalk Empire or Games or True Blood.
HBO makes money, because they, by themselves have the pull to get $15 bucks a month for only their channels.
The big networks don't have subscribers, they have affiliates, ads and advertisers. So every show has to fend for itself. That's why a show like Battlestar Galactica that had all that acclaim and hype almost got cancelled before it's last season, because it cost too much money. HBO is basically an indie film studio that doesn't have to worry about big opening weekends or distribution.
They like ratings, but they care more about subscribers.
My only thing with this show is...there's 5 books...and they keep getting bigger? And the guy's not done with the story yet?...so there could be 6 or 7 seasons and that's not even the end of the show? Iono if anyone could keep this on for a decade.Eventually whoever's watching it, is who's gonna watch it. And they'll have other ideas for that crowd.
