American Idol Tops Forbes List of TV's Biggest Moneymakers
Despite a sharp decline in ratings this season of American Idol, it looks like all is not lost on the pop culture phenomenon. Based upon ad estimates by Kantar Media, Idol holds the top spot on Forbes list of TV's biggest moneymakers with roughly $6.64 million earned every half hour.
FOX's freshman singing competition show, The X-Factor, came in at #2 with $5.55 per half hour. Not too shabby. However, Forbes notes that those numbers might be based on Simon Cowell's generous viewership prediction last year of 20 million viewers.
Rounding out the top five is Two and a Half Men, Glee, and Grey's Anatomy. You can check out the full list of big earners here.
From Forbes:
To determine which series generate the most advertising revenue, we turned to the data crunchers at Kantar Media, which tracks ad spending, among other metrics. The firm surveyed all regularly scheduled prime-time shows, excluding sports events, that aired in 2011 for our fifth annual version of the list. For an apples-to-apples comparison of network programs of differing lengths, the series are ranked based on ad revenue per average 30 minutes.To be sure, the revenue figures provided are estimates. The amount individual buyers actually forked over for their collection of 30-second spots varies, depending on advertisers’ perceptions about a show’s value to their clout with the respective network. What’s more, this list doesn’t factor in the millions spent to produce and license these shows.
Sine most ad time is bought before a show premieres, advertisers can find themselves paying top dollar for a much-hyped show that doesn’t live up to expectations. The No. 2 show on our list is The X-Factor, which brought in $5.55 million per half hour. Before the talent show debuted, judge and producer Simon Cowell predicted it would attract 20 million viewers. Considering Cowell’s success with American Idol, advertisers bought time on the show based on his confidence.
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