I don’t really know how I got to wondering about this the other day, but now I’m curious. Here are some of the things I figure we have to take into account:
[ul]
[li]record sales[/li][li]advertising revenue[/li][li]money they make off of the text message votes[/li][li]spinoff shows in other countries[/li][li]the tours the final 12 do after the show ends[/li][/ul]
So how much do you figure all this has made the creators of AI?
I don’t even watch the show, in fact I hate it and everything it stands for. I guess I just need another reason to despise Simon Cowell.
You should substitute European for American in your question, as it originates from this side of the pond. To give you a couple of quotes :-
The Pop Idol format is co-owned by Freemantle Media and 19 Management, which was set up by Simon Fuller, the man behind the Spice Girls and S Club 7.
The US version, shown on Fox after a £1m deal with the format owners.
More about Freemantle Media
A couple of years ago CKX, Inc. bought 19 Entertainment for $124 million in cash and about $37 million in stock, but I don’t know how much Simon Cowell got out of that. I think that Simon Fuller was the biggest shareholder of 19 Entertainment.