Lucky to get a show on air.., now what the heck ($$) do I ask for?

naeem

naeem

Well-known member
I'm lucky enough to have some work (1/2 travel show) that will air on the network (satellite) over the next coming months.

I will produce, and do everything myself, and then send it to them.., they've agreed to air it (only because they know my work - from covering local events for them, they know what I can do).

Because they are small, I know it ain't gonna be thousands of dollars... but WHAT DO I ASK FOR? How do you figure out what your time is worth??

What do 1/2 shows go for in small markets??? If anyone's sold something to a small market.., please provide osme input.

thanks,
 
Well how much IS your time worth? $40/hour? Try to come up with some general numbers in terms of how many hours you're going to work on this thing... add a bit onto the top... and if it doesnt look too high submit it in your proposal as a flat fee.

But I dont really know. I'd love to hear some numbers. Even low budget networks like Style are dropping ~30k an episode for their shows. At least... that's what someone told me. You're production cost is obviously going to be very low while the companies Style network are dealing with have full crews, post houses, etc to pay off. but that doesnt mean you have to be paid accordingly.

Not much help I know. Im curious what other people think
 
I totally agree here. Do yourself and OURSELVES a favor and ask the price for what it's worth. You said they know what stuff you can do and that why they engaged you then, accordingly, there s n reason for them to not pay you the "normal" price for the broadcast. I also agree with the first post...check how long time you have to put on the project and present that to them(or not, if you find it s look too much, but it shouldn't), this would be more concrete.

Good luck
 
ok... so then.. tell me... what is "the going rate"?

like it's been said.. there are many levels of work.. full production and camera crews to individuals running around with their DV's.

I'm new here.. and DO NOT want to work for peanuts, I'm willing to go a little lower to break into the biz, but it AIN"T GONNA BE FOR FREE! that's why I'm asking the "pro's" how they calulate their time and effort on projects?

I know how time I'm spending on this.. now what?

thanks,
 
i'd say a minimum of $1,500 since you'll be doing editing too (and since it seems like you're giving them the rights to the finished product)...Remember, this is also putting wear and tear on your equipment....$1,500 bear minimum....
 
For what it's worth... I'm putting together a proposal for a 1/2 hour weekly local show - Arts and Entertainment for the local community. Looking at $16,000 a week.

Cheers
 
Make sure that it's worth your time to do it. In some ways it really doesn't matter what the "going rate" is, if the "going rate" is less than it's worth your time to do it. If it takes you a full month to do each episode, and they're offering $1500, then it's totally not worth it.

If you don't know what your time's worth, figure out what you need to make per year, and back-figure from there. Let's say you wanted to make 70 grand a year. You'd need to pull in around $6,000 per month to do that. ($6,000 per month is $72,000 per year). If it takes you a month to make each episode, then obviously you'd need to charge $6,000 plus expenses. At least. If it's a weekly show, you'd need to charge at least $1500 plus expenses to get near the $6,000/mo or $72,000/yr pay scale.

Assuming it's a full-time gig, if you're working on this show then you can't be working on anything else, right? So this show should float your entire expenses. Or else you can't afford to work on it.
 
I know of some fishing shows on airing on a cable channel that is being done for $4,000 an episode all in.

Michael
 
I'm a little hazy on the details of the arrangement you're presenting here. Do you have a contractual agreement to produce a program or not?

If you did, you would certainly know it. As a part of the treatment, pitch and proposal process, you would have provided a detail-level budget to the network. Everything above and below the line would have been included: producer package; equipment; labor and fringes; insurance; post and on and on and on and on.

Who owns the intellectual property, who is the EP, where is the money coming from and how many episodes have you been guaranteed? I cannot fathom your original post - are you asking how much you should be paid to produce or direct or shoot or edit?

e
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.. this really helps!

I will be sitting down and looking closely at my expenses, and time spent.., and come up with where I think the range needs to be.., and then begin discussions!

To clarify, this is a small satellite network.., small enough where I'm talking to the President, and because he has alreaqdy aired local stuff I've covered for his network.... I'm doing the show on my own, and he's expressed interest in airing it. I know he will buy it.., but the question is how much.. that is what I need to negotiate.. so this discussion will certainly help!
 
Naeem,

I would first sit down and do a breakdown for each episode. Start with the details you have in front of you and backfill the rest as you research it.

If this program is intended strictly for a one-market sell, produced exclusively for one station / broadcaster / affiliate, then I would have them cover the entire budget in addition to a relatively standard producers package.

The PP is often based on the total gross budget at five points, paid over the pre, physical and post production period as a "salary". If you are doing a show that costs you $3k - $10k gross per episode, then your PP would be $150 - $500 respectively.

Add to this a Created By credit with a fixed one-time or residual episodic / per season value and, if the station is selling airtime against your show, a separate 5-point package against commercial revenue paid to the broadcaster.

If the show is going to affiliate stations, you need to hire an agent to protect and best represent your interests.

e
 
Okay, well, here's the thing: you've got a finished episode that you already did, right? And that's what he's talking about airing? If so, budget doesn't matter, all that matters is what he's willing to pay for it. You did this first episode "on spec", so the value of it is entirely up to what the buyer thinks it's worth.

What your bigger negotiation needs to be is: will you do any more episodes? And that's where the budgeting comes in, because you need to set the number high enough that it's worth you doing it. You have to calculate everything that it costs you out-of-pocket to produce it, plus all the time that it takes to do it (and that means *all* the time it takes to do it!) And then figure out what you need to earn to make that worthwhile.

There may be two very different negotiations going on. He may say "I'll give you $500 to let me air that episode" for all you know. And since it's done, in the can, what can you say? No? I mean, hey, you did it on spec, you weren't planning on getting anything from it, right? So why turn down $500? (at least, that's how a broadcaster/distributor may choose to look at it). But that should have no bearing on future episodes. Those have to be budgeted appropriately.

Then again, this broadcaster may not want to pay for exclusive rights. He may decide that he only wants to pay a small fee for airing it once, and you would be expected to make your money in other ways (such as direct video sales, etc).

You really have to figure out what each person's goal is before you can come to effective terms. And consider all markets and all value to the show -- is this something that you can package together and syndicate once you have 50 or 100 episodes done? Is this something that you can hire someone else to do once you get sick of it? Is this something that you could sell DVDs of, directly to end customers? And if so, would you be expected to give up those rights?

Lots to think about here.
 
Sometimes, when pricing a project, you may want to look at it from your client's point of view. How much money can the station make from the commercials aired with your show? Take about half that number, and that's probably what they're willing to pay. If they get subsidies from the cable/satellite subscribers, then maybe you can ask for a larger percentage.
 
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