Chapter 407： "Prison Break" (1)

Two days later.

Lyman went to WB TV to meet with Andrew Hernandez, the director of the TV station.

This time, I came to sign a copyright contract for the authorized pilot broadcast of "Prison Break".

Is it a trial broadcast? TV stations also have to spend money to buy it.

More is to confirm the continued cooperation after the successful pilot broadcast.

Generally speaking, which TV station a TV series is piloted on, basically the rights for subsequent broadcasts will be locked up.

The payment in advance is more like the copyright fee paid in advance before the cooperation.

However, the money is not much.

The first three episodes of "Prison Break" spent a total of more than 4 million yuan. WB TV station must pay 60% to 70% of the equivalent remuneration to the crew (industry regulations) for the money used for the pilot broadcast. $2.7 million was given.

Even if the two share the production risk, the producer suffers a bit more.

If the ratings of the pilot broadcast are above the standard line.

Note that the TV station's ratings statistics are collected by a news corporation. The results of this statistics are rarely concealed, and there is no such thing as a TV station's concealment.

Another point, the statistics of the ratings do not include all the people who watched the TV station.

Or it should be said that the most commonly used statistical interval for TV stations is Adults18-49 (A18-49 for short).

The reason why it is listed separately is that audiences in this age group have the most consumption desire, most of them have independent economic conditions, and they are also the most favored group by advertisers.

And the five major radio and television networks are all supported by big advertisers.

The amount of advertising fees determines the income of the series.

Therefore, the audience rating of A18-49 is the statistical standard of the TV industry, and it is also a direct reflection of the level of income of a series and whether it can be adopted by TV stations.

For the public station that "advertising is life", the two are directly linked.

As for the cable TV station, the reference value of the above description is not too big.

Especially for channels such as time, there are almost no advertisements, and it depends on the number of renewed users.

Whether it is an audience with consumption potential, they don't care.

Therefore, most of these cable stations are the total order data of the series and the subsequent renewal data.

Let's take an example.

Take it as a comparison.

Because of the difference between the two profit models, WB's revenue depends on advertising costs, so for WB, the ratings are its lifeblood, and it broadcasts whatever the audience likes;

For HBO, its revenue depends on the audience's subscription, so its task is to do everything possible to make better episodes to meet the audience's subscription needs.

As a result, HBO generally does not easily cut a drama in half, nor does it unrestrictedly irrigate and stretch a TV department to destroy a drama. This is why there is a saying that HBO produced, must be Out of boutique.

But what is interesting is that, in terms of the revenue of each TV station, it is usually the five major public platforms that beat the paid platforms.

In terms of pure TV network revenue, the other channels may be higher than most TV stations, but in terms of turnover, it is completely incomparable.

But when it comes to profits, premium channels such as HBO are the kings.

As for the evaluation of ratings, it can be roughly understood as follows:

First, the data of A18-49 above 3.0 is a high-quality product, and the renewal is absolutely worry-free;

Second, A18-49 above 2.0 is qualified, the problem of renewal is not very big, but there is a certain risk of diving;

3. If it is about 1.5, the TV station should take a good look at whether it is worth it. If the production cost of the TV series itself is very low, it is a low-cost comedy, and even if it doesn’t cost a few dollars to buy it, it will definitely be renewed. If you buy the copyright The cost is very high, not worth it, it is very worrying.

In addition, for some specific TV stations, such as CBS, a channel known as "the old man's station", the programs broadcast tend to be extraordinarily conservative. Some sensitive subjects are barely touched, such as LGBT.

And the content lacks youth idols or science fiction or love and other elements that younger audiences love, all crime dramas, elderly dramas, such as "Criminal Minds", "Basic Deduction", "My Mom and Dad Romance" .

The statistics of A18-49 of this TV station are often below 1.5, but the national audience rating is often as high as 3.0 or above. In short, it is very magical, which is different from common sense. Their TV series have their own estimates.

Also, TV stations like WB, which are at the bottom of the top five, have lower requirements than the average ones.

For example, the pilot contract signed by Andrew Hernandez and Lyman stipulated that "Prison Break" would be renewed as long as the ratings of A18-49 exceeded 1.3.

The revenue plan divided by the two is the basic licensing fee + the share of advertising costs + most of the profits from DVD distribution.

This is also a drama contract for a normal TV station contract.

If the renewal is successful, the TV station will use the collected episode ratings to seek funding from various advertisers.

Under normal circumstances, 30-minute episodes will have 7-10 minutes of advertisements, and 60-minute episodes will have minute advertisements. The middle part can be used for advertisers to bid for placement.

As for the connection between advertising and ratings, there are many factors.

Because the audience of each product is different, statistics of male and female audiences of multiple age groups are often used.

For example, if you want to advertise a female product, it can’t be placed in a TV drama with a majority of male audiences.

Under normal circumstances, there is a consensus that women are more likely to generate consumption impulses than men, and among adults, relatively young people are more likely to believe in advertisements.

How to target the mass advertising crowd through programs is a test of the broadcasting departments of major TV networks, and how to place advertisements also tests the vision and vision of advertisers.

Whether it can be a win-win situation is a matter of thought.

As for the final DVD release, it is roughly the same as the offline release of the movie, and the copyright producer takes more than the distributor.

Therefore, in this contract, put aside the unpredictable advertising placement costs.

If the ratings steadily break below 3, Lehmann can earn at least 18 million paid TV stations; if it breaks 4, at least 23 million, if it breaks 5, about 30 million...and so on.

Anyway, at its peak, "Friends", which broke 7 steadily, brought TV stations at least 500 million in revenue a year.

The producer is probably around one hundred million.

Damn, advertisers are really big dogs.

It's a pity that the producers generally don't get much of the advertising costs, and most of it goes to the TV station. This is also the general situation in the industry.

Just like the contract signed by Lehmann for the advertisement of "Prison Break", the producer can only get less than 30%, and the conditions are still harsh.

No way, platform channels are naturally at the top of the food chain.

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