How does a TV show make money?

[CormoranStrike]

I can get my head round a commercial channel. Even poor content is content that adverts can be built around or a sponsor found for. Good content can be sold on internationally and to catch up channels.

But on a non commercial channel, such as the BBC, how does a programme actually make money? Especially quiz shows where there is not only the cost of producing it but in giving away prizes?

Aren't BBC shows sold around the world?

Sell the rights to the format, for example The Voice.

They sell the shows to other countries, they copyright the format too, so other countries pay to use it...

BBC Studios is the commercial arm of the BBC group and as mentioned above they sell the IP of shows such as Strictly & Dr Foster to other countries. They also sell the UK versions to other countries.

Have you noticed BBC quiz show prizes are typically lower than prizes offered, say, on ITV and Channel 4?

When the hit daytime quiz show The Weakest Link is launched in prime time on BBC1 next week, its top prize will be doubled to £20,000. While the sum is minimal compared with the potential £1m offered by ITV's Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, BBC guidelines counsel against prizes of "excessive value".

While there is no limit on what prizes television shows can offer, the BBC guidelines for programme makers say "cash prizes should be avoided... It is inappropriate to spend licence fee money on prizes of excessive value".

www.theguardian.com/media/2000/oct/23/broadcasting.bbc1

The article is over two decades old, but to this day, the prizes are still lower than quiz shows on commercial channels

Yes the BBC will sell to other countries and also to other platforms e.g. definitely Netflix, Amazon (potentially too)

Quiz shows are cheap as chips to make. Limited makeup, no costume, one written in advance quiz, one presenter, free contestants.

A TV drama is £150k an episode absolute minimum.

But yes, they sell the format and they sell the rights (the BBC has been selling its output to foreign broadcasters for at least 50 years). They're also funded by the taxpayer (which is why the prizes are tiny because people would get really arsey if they felt their TV licence was paying for someone to make £200k for knowing the answers to some random questions

Interesting! Thank you all

Not all programmes have to make money, it's a public service, paid for by the licence fee.

Plus some programmes are sold at a profit, like PPs have said.