Ad Buyers Sour on Schlocky Summer Reality: 'We Want Scripted' | TheWrap.com

Ad Buyers Sour on Reality Shows: "We Want Scripted"

"'Reality shows are no longer cheap to produce,' another network executive told TheWrap. 'A typical reality show might start at $650,000 to produce, but that could go up to $1.5 million for a top-tier show.' Studios are finding that they can produce summer scripted shows for that kind of money by using lesser-known actors and film in Canada or other locations outside the country or away from Los Angeles and New York; or by finding dual revenue streams, like selling the shows internationally first, to offset the costs of license fees.

And these shows don't have to do huge ratings to make money. They just have to make the economics work. ABC has taken the biggest stride into summer-scripted this season, and makes the best example. The word on its three summer scripted shows -- 'The Gates,' 'Scoundrels' and 'Rookie Blue' -- is that they're low-rated failures. Not so, if you ask advertisers, who very much appreciate and support them."