Who pays for the cost of producing a reality show?

Who pays for the cost of producing a reality show?

Mark Cronin (Founder & Producer) gives expert video advice on: What makes a good reality TV producer? and more...

Traditionally, television shows are paid for by networks. Networks take in money from advertisers - the people who make products who want to get ads in the shows to get them in front of people's eyes. Advertising money is what drives the business. That is the money coming into the network. The money going out is the money they spend to make the television shows and if the network is successful, it is taking in more ad money, so then it is putting that out in television show budgets. But the money is flowing from the network. Ultimately, the money came from the sponsor. Ultimately, it was the fact that Coca Cola bought ad time on CBS that allowed them to have the money to give to a producer to make television shows.