American Idol has made $8.2 billion in 8 years

Portfolio Magazine breaks down how much American Idol has earned over the past 8 years. It's a staggering amount of money! It's like a blockbuster film every year. No wonder Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul want raises.

Ratings are down this year but the show is still a money-making machine. I love it when fans declare that "this show is over!" and all that other non-sense. Yeah, it's over... to the tune of $8.2 billion in 8 years.

Some highlights:

TV Revenue: $6.4 billion
Summer Tours: $30 million / year
CD/music sales: $600 million
Jennifer Hudson's endorsements: $3 million
License deals: $400 million
Spin-offs, etc (copycat shows capitalizing on the Idol concept): $715 million (you can subtract this from the total since this did not necessarily go to Fox)

Via LA Times