Television failure is expensive, but the bandwidth is great: there is a big difference between the various genres. For example, what about good times bad times. “That’s pretty cheap.”
It is no secret that drama series and large studio shows it takes to make. The amounts that go around in the television country are gigantic and Tina Nijkamp knows all about it as a former channel boss of SBS 6. She has a special from her podcast Tina’s TV UPDATE Made in which everything revolves around how many different types of TV productions cost.
Location vs Studio
What is cheaper: recording a program on location or in the studio? “A program on location is usually much cheaper than a studio show with television. In what price categories do you have to think? That differs very much. A panel show à la which of the three is still fairly cheap because you can take several of them in a day.”
How many then? “Then you have to think of around 80 to 100 thousand euros per episode and a studio show like The Voice of the Headliner or really such a big talent show, then you really have to think of a program price of about 400 thousand euros per episode, because you often can’t take more than one and because everything is much larger.”
Reality soaps
What is the cheapest? Reality series such as Urk!. “The cheapest programs are the reality soaps with ordinary people, because you don’t lose a lot of money as a channel for the artist. It is quite cheap to make, because you only run for three or four days and then you put it together in the assembly.”
She continues: “What does such a program like the Meilandjes cost? Then you have to think – without the fee of the Meilandjes counted on it, because it will certainly have risen over the years because they are extremely popular – at about 60 thousand euros per episode. If you look at a program such as Expedition Robinson, that is much more expensive.”
Expensive Robinson
Why is Robinson more expensive? “Because that is in a location. Actually a kind of studio program, but in a location with all the games and situations and I know a lot. They are just six weeks and a whole crew, on such a deserted island in Asia. Then you have to think of about 180 thousand euros per episode.”
She continues: “There are also outliers, because The Summit costs around 300 thousand euros per episode, I think. There is a difference in that too.”
Cheapest
Tina was SBS 6 channel boss. What was her cheapest production? “Road abusers was one of the cheapest programs in my time at SBS 6. That cost less than 35 thousand euros per episode.”
And what is the most expensive show on TV? “I think that it has been The Voice for a long time. It was said that it cost four to five tons, and even six tons I have heard, per episode. Seventeen episodes have been made of that, but in terms of budget a news program is the most expensive for a channel, because that is every day and has several editions.”
News
There is also no advertising in news broadcasts, because that is not allowed. “So there is little money to be made. The Return on Investment So is not very high, but it does a lot for your brand. “
What is also very expensive are drama series. According to Tina, the NPO-Megaflop Arcadia cost a million euros per episode and a series such as Gooische Women three tons.
GTST
And then GTST? “GTST is of course an expensive program for a channel, because it is also broadcast four times a week and it only takes half an hour. So there is only one advertising block in it, because a channel can only broadcast two advertising blocks and twelve minutes of advertising per hour.”
“Half an hour program and drama are relatively expensive. Then you have to think of around 65 thousand euros per episode. That is actually quite cheap for Drama. Of course, GTST is such a well -oiled machine. There is a permanent team on it, a number of people who continue all year round and that makes something like that a lot cheaper per episode.”