Reality Bites Warner Bros.

Posted Apr 27th 2006 1:32PM by Anne Metz
Filed under: Products and Services, Launches, Industry, Television, Time Warner (TWX)

Warner Bros., the television-and-movies subsidiary of Time Warner, is stepping up efforts to cash in on the big-money, low-budget industry of Reality -- reality television, that is. The company intends to launch a TV production unit, called Warner Horizon Television, to produce even lower budget reality television programs.

And how does Warner Horizon Television plan to lower the cost of the already pathetically cheap reality television shows?

Well, according to Peter Roth, President of Warner Bros. Television, the studio will limit taping days, shooting locations and "talent" pay. This new production model will reduce costs to about $500,000 less per episode than what a "traditional" (read: watchable) TV show costs per episode.

If you're interested, Warner Horizon, I have a couple of ideas for some very low-budget reality shows:

1. A reality television show centering around homeless people.

Advantages

You could pay the "stars" in booze and aluminum cans.
Location costs would be basically negligible since you could film the show in basically any city in America, maybe even Canada, so you could use non-union staff.

2. A reality television show following the workday of average bureaucrats.

Advantages

All the bureaucrats I've ever met are more than happy to complain about their jobs and their co-workers for FREE, so you could basically draw a line through the "talent pay" line on your budget.
Office supplies, office supplies, office supplies!

We should talk, Warner Horizon. Have your people call me. Really.

Tags: Canada, Peter Roth, PeterRoth, Reality television, Reality tv, RealityTelevision, RealityTv, Warner Bros., Warner Brothers, Warner Horizon Television, WarnerBros., WarnerBrothers, WarnerHorizonTelevision

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-27-2006 @ 2:16PM

Guy Herman said...

I watched one realty TV show about 4 years ago and it was so boring I said I would never watch another and I haven't. They may make Warner Bros. money, but it sure shows how the American public is starved for entertainment. Maybe if they could turn out good movie's the movie field would not be made up of so many political wantabee's.