Re: "Law & Order" franchise generating a billion in profits

On Oct 22, 11:39 am, David <dimla...@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
from mediaweek

Law & Order: Franchise Powerhouse at $1 Bil.
A.J. Frutkin

Between Law & Order: Criminal Intent's move to the USA network and the
original Law & Order's yet-to-be-scheduled midseason launch on NBC,
one of TV's most venerable brands may appear diminished in terms of
its prime-time broadcast presence this fall. But the franchise remains
a financial powerhouse, generating more than $1 billion in profits.

Much of that strength comes from the astounding shelf life of L&O and
its various spinoffs. Repeats of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
have run on USA since 1999, while L&O:CI repeats have aired on the
network since 2001.

Network and cable executives declined to comment on details of those
acquisitions. But at an estimated cost per episode of $1.4 million,
eight seasons of L&O: SVU go for about $246 million. A reported $2
million-per-episode cost for six seasons of CI-which runs both on USA
and its sister net Bravo-adds another $264 million.

TNT has aired repeats of the original Law & Order since 2001.
Estimates put the cost per episode somewhere between $700,000 and $2
million. At a cost of just $1 million per episode, revenue generated
from 17 seasons could exceed $374 million.


-- Also remember that A&E aired repeat episodes for several years
prior to TNT winning the broadcasts rights to re-air the series.


And that's just cable revenue. SVU repeats began airing weekends on
broadcast stations this fall with a guarantee of two runs per weekend,
while CI repeats are now stripped weekdays. Both are 7/7 barter deals.
Assuming all spots are sold over a 52-week year at an average cost of
$15,000 per 30-second spot on weekends, barter alone on SVU repeats
could bring in almost $22 million. At an average cost of $10,000 per
30-second spot, stripped runs of CI could earn more than $36 million.

Add to those tabulations foreign sales in more than 180 countries,
foreign-format sales both in France and Russia, DVD sales and
merchandising, and it's clear the Law & Order franchise remains a
major moneymaker. With the brand still generating this amount of
revenue, even the downgrade of original CI episodes to cable has a
tremendous upside.

"If I can keep all three shows in production, that's 66 more episodes
a year," said creator *** Wolf. "On that basis alone, it's well worth
continuing."


-- Memo to NBC: Law & Order = decent ratings, Friday Night Lights =
paltry ratings. Time to grow up, shed your disdain for *** Wolf and
give yourself a shot at winning the Friday night ratings battle.


--
Allen Kirshner
(the alt.music.lyrics TV theme guy)


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