Expert: Patrick J. Murray - 2/15/2011

Question
QUESTION: Mr. Murray

I am in the process of creating a business plan for a series based on regional artist in the southeast. I found your answer to the question posed from a previous post about finding the financial projections for a documentary based series.

I wanted to know if you would be able to help me find these projections or if you could answer what they might be based off your experience.

I appreciate your time and look forward to your answer!

Best

ANSWER: Dear Beau,

Thanx for stopping by....

The answer to your question is in the details. I really do not know how big of a production you are planning. The size and scope of your show will determine your costs in the end.

Some questions you may wish to answer....

How many people will it take to produce this?

How many cameras are you shooting with at any given time?

What are your edit requirements?

What outside costs are involved?

And so many more questions.....

It is tough for me to pin numbers on such a vague question to be honest. Building a show is like building a house - those blueprints will serve as a guide to cost and the final product. From your note all I get is you want to build a house - no details...so you see how I really cant offer a guestimate for you based on what you have asked here.

If you wish to get more specific, please follow up with some plans on what you are thinking of in terms of creating a show and I will try and answer!

Best regards,

Patrick Murray



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Mr. Murray,

Thanks for your reply! To follow up on the details they are as follows:

I am working on a reality based documentary series that requires anywhere from $40k to $50k worth of labor, equipment and resources to produce, market and distribute via internet and I have the details of those number laid out in a budget within my business plan. I am currently planning on broadcasting webisodes late spring on an exclusive basis to a pilot audience.

I think what my question is more specifically, is what kind of financial returns can I expect should the show succeed as:

A-Webisode based Series-Ad Generated Revenue
B-Locally Distributed Broadcast for Atlanta GA market
         -In other words How much do local networks pay production companies to produce, are there any profits generated from this beyond production cost
C-A local sponsor decides to fund the production: Coca-Cola, Home-Depot etc.
D-An A-List Network picks it up: Discovery, MTV, BRAVO etc.  

Also, are there any other streams of revenue that are generated from successful productions that I have not listed, if so how do they work and how much do they return on average for this type of production.

Thanks again for your time! I hope this helps to clarify my question. Let me know if you need anything else.

Best,
Beau Garrett

Answer
Thanx for the follow up Beau!

Now maybe I can assist a little better with some further thoughts on the subject here....

First off, the programming business is not what it used to be in the traditional sense of stations - and with cable outlets, they are getting pitched on a daily basis to look at programs from outside producers. As you can imagine, if you are not Oprah, Dr. Phil, Ellen, the Doctors,or any of those major shows, your chance of securing a deal with a station group can be minimal.It

On the cable side it depends on whether the programming first fits their genre and second if the quality meets their standards and theirs, the price is right. Now I don't want you to give away your idea here but I do not know just what your subject matter covers. Is it a reality show? A nature show? A show on homes? It would matter as whether it goes national or if it goes just on a local basis.

Now let's address your questions -

The web is still being discovered...so for you to make any kind of real money is negligible. And is each of your shows costing 40 to 50 thousand? Or are you producing the standard 13 week series for that much? What is the length? Are these half hour shows or an hour? I would tell you in either case your cost estimate is a drop in the bucket for a series. My suspicion is it may not have that network "look" that you have planned. SO to address your original question again for this part, money on the web is very "iffy" and you would receive pennies on the dollar.

Local TV stations really have no money. If they want to do a series, they can sell and produce it themselves. The only way it becomes attractive to them if the price is low and they can control the sales inventory within the show assuming that the subject matter is of interest to their given audience. They may pay you something, but it would not equate to your production costs.

You certainly can go to local stores and see if they will fund your program....but if I haven't mentioned in all this, you better make sure you are covered legally as well. These things don't happen without contracts - no one works on a handshake any more - it is too risky. So if you are going to sign people up they will want to be covered and you should be too. Once someone signs on board, they become responsible as well - can be a big process.

For the networks to pick it up, you may need a big time distributor. Watch the credits on any number of shows and you will see you the various networks are dealing with on a regular basis. From there, I would contact them with your idea, demo, price considerations, etc.

Remember, I am not a lawyer, but you better have your idea copywrited and protected so someone else cant walk off with it. If you expose your product and don not have any coverage legally over it you risk losing it all if someone else decides they want to produce it.

My job is always to encourage folks to try and reach for their potential here. Having said that, you need to know that you are swimming upstream with some very rich players. When you look at those credits on shows that are currently on, you will see some very heavy hitters in the business who have a track record and keep churning out programming - they have it down to a science. I am saying this so you do not risk your entire fortune on something that may feed your ego but is economically unsound. There are many show ideas that hit the bricks because they are old, not different enough, lack production or star value, or don't have the financing to complete large blocks of shows.  

Again, I am not sure of all your intentions here or show content for that matter - so proceed with caution. You should talk to some programming people in your area. If you are in Atlanta, try talking to the local cable folks or programming people at your local TV station. Get a sense of what they may be looking for in a program and what they might pay for it...Lunch is cheaper than $40 or $50 thousand dollars of your money....

I hope this helps you some more - please come on back if you wish to dialogue more about this. Think more about the legal aspect as well as the financial aspect of this...you may be under represented and financed!

Best regards,

Patrick Murray