Sponsor (Jan-Mar 1962)

CONTINUE BELOW-LINE RISE llll![llll!!lllilMllllllllllllll!illlllllliilii!il!lilliiilIli!f!!IIIIIIIW llillllllllllllllllillllllllllllllliillllllll!llllllll!llil!llllllllllllllliillllllll!lllllllll A look at net tv show costs in recent years ■61-'62 '60'61 '59'60 '56-*57 SITUATION COMEDY Half hour $45,000 (23)* $38,250 (24) $39,000 (15) $36,000 (15) p ADVENTURE-MYSTERY Half hour Hour 33,600 (5) 90,500 (6) 46,500 (5) 88,900 (10) 38,500 (7) 77,500 (6) 30,805 (18) WESTERN Half hour Hour 47,200 (4) 86,890 (9)** 40,500 (14) 87,750 (8) 40,000 (19) 78,000 (7) 31,166 (6) VARIETY Half hour Hour 38,000 (1) 128,600 (6) 49,500 (4) 128,250 (6) *Figures in parentheses indicate number of shows. "Does not include Maverick re-runs. iiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiii 41,850 (7) 125,960 (6) 36,000 (15) 66,687 (8) !i:,;!l!!llll!l|]!i:illl;:!!!li loll) wood unions. • Trend toward hour-long prorams, more costly than the tradiional half-hours. While audience is far and away he adman's prime consideration in iu\ing a network tv program, he has o keep abreast of what that program osts and why. "Make sure the money you pour Qto a show is right up there on that creen," cautions Ted Bates' senior .p.-programing director Richard A. t. Pinkham. With surveillance the adman may e able to suggest ways either to cut orners or to improve the show with dded expenditures in a seemingly eak area of the show's makeup, acording to Pinkham. If you've inested in a variety show or anthology n which a great deal is spent on uest stars, see that you aren't getting 3.000 talent for $7,500 fees. Furler, he hypothesizes a program not oing so well, for which the producer i spending $2,500 on scripts. Here suggestion that the script stakes be dsed, say, to $3,500 may be in rder. Additional advice to investors in et tv fare emanates from Michael Dann, v.p. for programs, CBS TV. He notes that while above-the-line costs (talent and supervision) by and large have leveled over the past few years, every now and then a client falls in love with a performer or script, and pays a price way out of line with the going market rate. From then on, the lucky artist will be expecting the same inflated fee or more. Dann cites two recent examples of such boat-rocking. One involved an actor who had been making guest star appearances on the Garry Moore show at $7,500 a shot. A naive client came along and offered that same performer $42,500 to appear on a network special, as one of several guests. Then there's the director who normally had received $5,000 per assignment on CBS TV. Unaware of this a client hired him directly — at $16,000. If this kind of aberration can be avoided there need be no appreciable hike in talent pricing, Dann feels. He points out, however, that when a show succeeds, the package price goes up year-by-year, as per contractual agreement. Otherwise, it's below-the-line ex penses (technical services) that provide the price rises, which Dann estimates at five to six percent per year. And he anticipates that this chronic increase will continue so long as the nation's economy maintains its current pace. (As an ameliorating factor, Dann points out that technological advances, such as in the field of tape, can be counted on to bring about some below-the-line cost cuts.) Below the line costs include camera work, a highly expensive element; production staff (unit manager, assistant directors, etc.), grips and stand-by labor, electricians and their equipment, scenery (can run into plenty of money), sound recording, studio rental (a heavy expense), makeup, hairdressing, set dressing, props, film editing, and so on ad infinitum. Periodically and perpetually, union contracts for the myriad groups working at below-the-line jobs come up for renewal — and at such times, pay increases are the norm. There is an industry rule of thumb that above-the-line expenses should approximate 40% of a show's costs, while below-the-line takes up. about I Please turn to jxtge 44^ 30NSOR 8 JANUARY 1962 25