US TV’s Top 10 money-spinners

Forbes recently looked at the US TV series that were the biggest money spinners for their networks, based on based on ad revenue per average 30 minutes.

1. American Idol*
Fox
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $8.1 million
Now in its ninth season, the singing competition continues to crush the competition. Dubbed the “Death Star” by network rivals, the series rakes in more than $16 million, on average, for every hour it’s on. Simply put, it’s the Super Bowl of prime time. But will the show still charm 20 million-plus fans next season–and the advertisers hoping to court them–without the loved-and-loathed judge Simon Cowell? For Fox executives looking to fill the departing talent’s position on the judges’ panel, that’s the $8.1 million question.
*The American Idol telecast varies in length throughout the season. This figure averages Tuesday and Wednesday.

2. Two and a Half Men
CBS
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $3.1 million
Charlie Sheen’s long-running laugher doesn’t garner the awards of 30 Rock or the buzz of Modern Family, but it has both beat when it comes to eyeballs and the advertising dollars spent to reach them. Two and a Half Men is not only the most watched sitcom (averaging close to 15 million total viewers, thus far this season), but also the costliest comedy for advertisers (Madison Avenue shells out more than $3 million, on average, per show). Of course, like Idol, Men‘s future is in question–with Sheen publicly flirting with the idea of leaving the show, CBS’ safest bet becomes anything but.

3. 24
Fox
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $3 million
Kiefer Sutherland’s long-running drama may be losing some viewer interest and critical praise, but advertisers are still eager to pay up. A single episode–an hour in Jack Bauer’s high-intensity world–generated $6 million in revenue last year. Sadly for Fox’s wallet, the current season will be the action series’ last.

4. Grey’s Anatomy
ABC
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.8 million
Now in its sixth season, ABC’s soapy medical drama continues to lure a sizable–and female-skewing–audience to its TV sets each week. Given both its real estate (Thursday’s at 9 p.m.) and viewership (13.5 million viewers, on average, this season), Madison Avenue buyers have been willing to collectively shell out $5.6 million per show.

5. V
ABC
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.8 million
The network’s hotly anticipated science fiction series benefited from both buyer enthusiasm and a limited fall season. Though V opened to an impressive 14.3 million viewers this fall, the show, a re-imagination of the popular early 1980s miniseries, shed 5 million-plus–or more than one-third of its audience–over the course of its four episode run. Ordinarily that would lead to a pricing correction for subsequent in-season (or scatter market) purchases, but as a limited-run series it was insulated from any pricing adjustment. Since the series returned in mid-March, it has continued its spectacular decline. On a recent airing, the once promising series charmed less than 5 million viewers.

6. Desperate Housewives
ABC
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.7 million
Over the course of their six seasons on the air, the ladies of Wisteria Lane have lost friends, husbands and, in some–OK, many–cases, their dignity, but never viewer interest. The result: In 2009 advertisers collectively shelled out more than $5 million an episode.

7. Dancing With The Stars*
ABC
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.56 million
ABC’s long-running pro-am dance competition has cha-cha’ed its way to ratings glory season after season, and advertisers have taken notice. Buyers collectively shelled out more than $5 million per hour on the show. Thus far this spring, performances from cast members like Kate Gosselin, Pam Anderson and Olympic gold medalist Evan Lysacek have charmed 19.6 million viewers, on average, each week.
*The DWTS telecast varies in length throughout the season. This figure averages all nights across two cycles.

8. Lost
ABC
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.53 million
For a cult-like series that requires both intense focus and a weekly time commitment of its audience, advertisers are willing to shell out. Collectively, buyers forked over more than $5 million per episode during last year’s long-running and ever-popular series’ second to last season. Thus far this season, nearly 12 million viewers, on average, have tuned in each week

9. Survivor
CBS
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.22 million
A decade after launching, the reality genre’s early breakout still manages to lure viewership in big ways. And what makes it that much more appealing to advertisers grappling with a DVR-reliant customer-base: the water-cooler nature of the event-style series. The ad buying community plunked down $4.5 million, on average, per hour during the last two Survivor cycles.
*This figure average two Survivor cycles, Samoa and Tocantins.

10. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
CBS
Revenue Per 30 Minutes: $2.07 million
Crime is big business for the Tiffany network. The flagship series in the popular $2 billion-plus franchise pulls in close to 15.8 million viewers on a weekly basis. When it comes to ad revenue, that kind of fan club generates more than $4 million for an average hour-long telecast.

Source: Forbes