American Idol – Still the Biggest Money Maker

Over the years the ratings have been steadily dropping for “American Idol” and the juggernaut is not what it used to be. But it still packs a solid punch when it comes to making money.

According to research by the Forbes Magazine, “American Idol” is the number one show when measured in ad revenue sales. For every half hour it broadcasts, the show makes $8.1 million purely out of ad sales. The research does not try to discover “which is the most profitable show?”, but rather which show has the most power in dictating ad prices.

The research broke the time slots into 30 minute segments so that sitcoms, dramas and reality shows could be compared with each other on an equal basis. It also disregarded all sports shows in its survey. The difference between the number one and two spots was a whopping $5 million. Sitting at number two was troubled actor Charlie Sheen’s “Two and a Half Men”. The sitcom is the only one from its genre to even make it to the top ten.

Taking the third spot with $3 million was “24” the drama series from Fox. The show is in its final season, which probably accounts for the large ad revenue. The fourth spot is tied between an alien sci-fi and medical drama. ABC’s “V” and “Grey’s Anatomy” rake in $2.8 million each. The ad revenue ratings could play a great part in the future of certain shows. “V” is close to its season finale and so far no confirmation has been made of a second season.

ABC eyes ‘pod’ treatment for ‘V’

Despite rave reviews for the pilot from fans and surprisingly, critics, the unofficial word on “V” is that it is in trouble. Although the network confirmed that the Sci-fi drama would launch as planned on Tuesday, November 3rd at 8 p.m, its decision to split this seasons episodes into 2 pods has everyone questioning the future of the series.

ABC announced plans to initially run 4 episodes, take a break, and return mid-season in March. This led to rumors that the number of episodes on the show had been reduced. However, ABC and producer Warner Bros. vehemently denied these rumors, stating that the show will run for 13 episodes as planned. The reason for the break is logical, as network insiders point out that “American Idol” launches in January followed by the Winter Olympics in February, making the return of the second half of “V” in March a smart decision. The show, a franchise initially written by American Writer, Producer and Director Kenneth Johnson, is about Aliens known as “The Visitors” trying to take over the Earth and a group of humans called The Resistance who fight them. It debuted in 1983 as “V” a two part miniseries, followed by a three-part miniseries in 1984 titled “V: The Final Battle”. A regular one hour weekly series aired during the 1984-1985 television season and was referred to as “V: The Series”.

In February 2008, Johnson released a novel disregarding the two series which followed the 1983 miniseries. The alternative sequel was titled “V: The Second Generation”. Negotiations with Warner Bros. for a TV adaptation of this novel failed later that year, followed quickly by the announcement that Warner Bros. TV would be producing a complete remake of “V”. The remake is now written by Scott Peters, the creator of the show “The 4400”.