HOUSE OF THE DRAGON: FINANCING OF A TV SHOW

HBO's original series, House of the Dragon, is the prequel to the hit HBO original Game of Thrones, which premieres the first episode of its first season on August 21 of this summer. A little more than three years after Game of Thrones wrapped up its last episodes, HBO is returning with a prequel series that can capitalize on the popularity that made the original show TV's biggest hit.?

House of Dragons has cost $20M+ an episode for the production of its first 10-episode season. The show was given a 10-episode series order without having to shoot the pilot first, showing great faith in the project from the start, but it also confirms how dedicated HBO is to getting more spinoffs set in Westeros just right. If you are wondering how HBO managed to keep the cost of its 10-episode first season from going too much higher than what HBO paid for the final season of Game of Thrones, especially with even more CGI dragons expected to fly around, a source close to the production said that HBO is now so adept at these world-building series, having spent years not only on Game of Thrones but also producing ‘Westworld’ and ‘His Dark Materials’, that the team can make a high-quality series as efficiently and effectively as possible.?????

For reference, "Game of Thrones" costs HBO about $100 million a season, and Season Eight, which was it's last, costs $15 million a production. In fact, when you compare that with the eye-popping $465 million spent on Amazon's forthcoming spinoff ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’, $20 million per episode starts to look cheap. While $20 million might sound (and is) a crazy amount of change, compared with a few other major titles coming to competing streaming services in short order, it is actually quite impressive that House of Dragons did not cost any more to make.?

Game of Thrones has taken in a ridiculous amount of money over the course of its eight-season run on HBO. When Game of Thrones began, it was said that it would cost about $50-60 million to produce its first season, a breakdown that works out to $5-6 million per episode. For the final "hurrah" episode, "Game of Thrones," which included many epic battle sequences, HBO spent $15 million per episode. Its biggest bid yet, Season 6, ran for 10 episodes and had a $10 million-per-episode budget, up from earlier seasons that were closer to $6-$7 million.?????

The $5-6 million average held up for all but one episode in the first five seasons of Game of Thrones. By Season 8, the last, it had increased to $15 million per episode, due to longer, more combat-focused productions. All six main stars on the show earned more than $1 million an episode during their final seasons, and though NBC tried to minimize production costs, that still added up to around $10 million an episode.?????

Now, $20 million seems like the logical expansion where Netflix, and many Netflix competitors, are going; HBO is not too far off from that in its own budget-busting Game of Thrones success, which would have seen the final episodes run $15 million each.?

With the second-season premiere of Westworld, all of which feature the show is flashy science fiction and special effects, comes the reminder that this show is, well, very expensive. Band of Brothers was one of the first big-budget shows to come out of non-major network TV, beginning its run at HBO in the late 90s, on an almost unheard-of $12 million budget per episode. Each episode of the HBO hit took 15 days to shoot, costing $5 million a shot, which was twice as much as the average network series.

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How do TV shows get the funding to make the show?

TV shows are financed in different ways. Most TV networks produce their own content, but some shows are produced by studios. Studios are independent production companies that specialize in TV show development, as well as other types of media like movies and video games.

How does TV show funding work?

TV shows need money to be made, and that money comes from a variety of sources. The most common form of funding for TV shows is through advertising. Advertisers pay to have their products or services featured on TV, and this helps to cover the costs of making the show. Other sources of funding can include government grants or private investors.

Funding for a TV show

When it comes to funding a TV show, there are a few different ways that producers can get the money they need. The first is through advertising and sponsorships. Producers will typically approach businesses and ask them to sponsor the show in exchange for exposure to the program. Another way to fund a TV show is through government grants. In some cases, the government will provide funding for shows that promote certain messages or values. Finally, many TV shows are funded by the production companies themselves. This is often done through investment or by using pre-existing funds from other projects.

Types of funding

There are a few different ways that TV shows can get the funding to make the show. The most common way is through advertisers. Advertisers will pay for air time during the show to promote their products. This is the most common form of funding for TV shows.

Another way TV shows can get funding is through product placement. This is where companies will pay to have their products featured in the show. This can be anything from having a character drink a certain brand of soda to driving a certain car.

Finally, some TV shows are funded by government grants. This is usually for shows that are educational or have some sort of public service message.

How much money does one need to fund a TV show?

It takes a lot of money to make a TV show. The average cost of producing an hour of television is about $3 million. That includes the cost of hiring writers, directors, and actors, as well as paying for set design, costumes, and other production expenses.

So where does all this money come from? TV shows are usually funded by a combination of advertising revenue, licensing fees, and government subsidies.

Advertising revenue is the most common source of funding for TV shows. When a show is popular, advertisers are willing to pay a lot of money to have their products featured on it. This money goes directly to the network that airs the show.

Licensing fees are another important source of funding for TV shows. When a show is sold to another country or to a streaming service like Netflix, the studio that produces the show gets paid a licensing fee. This money can be used to help fund future seasons of the show.

Government subsidies can also be used to fund TV shows. In some countries, the government provides financial incentives to companies that produce television programs. This money can be used to cover some of the costs associated with making a TV show.