For more information on the following story, contact Dom Caristi at [email protected] or (765) 285-1480.
REALITY SHOWS CONTINUE BECAUSE THEY ARE CHEAP, EASY TO PRODUCE
MUNCIE, Ind. -- Don't expect reality shows like Temptation Island and Survivor to go away any time soon, says a Ball State University telecommunications professor.
Despite heavy criticism, reality shows are cheap to produce and draw high ratings, said Dom Caristi, who teaches broadcast programming and is a former fellow of the National Association of Television Program Executives.
While NBC pays about $13 million per episode for the highly-rated drama ER - the most for any network program - the cost of a reality show can be as low as $500,000 per episode.
"I don't think we've seen the peak for reality shows yet," Caristi said. "MTV and the World Wrestling Federation are planning reality shows. In fact, production companies are making announcements about new reality shows once or twice a week."
The broadcast networks have been beating the bushes to come up with cheaper alternatives to their rich diet of sitcoms and series. Last summer, broadcast networks launched a flurry of cable-inspired reality shows.
"At some point, the networks will be over," Caristi said. "In the 50s and 60s there were Westerns every night and they slowly died out. It is a trend that may take a few more years to wear off."
Like its predecessor in Survivor, Temptation Island has gotten off to a fast start, recently attracting 16 million viewers for its premiere. The controversial show places several unmarried, but committed, couples on an exotic island filled with good-looking people trying to split up the relationship.
Caristi believes the backlash against reality programming may have already started. Temptation Island has been pulled by a Fox Network affiliate in North Carolina because of a recent controversy. One of the couples being enticed have a young child. "You don't have protesters in Hollywood yet, but people are becoming uneasy as these type of shows push the line of acceptable programming," he said. "At some point, the reality shows will push a little too far and viewers will not accept it.
"Right now we are very curious and want to watch. It will take some time before the novelty wears off. Who Wants to be a Millionaire had some incredible ratings when it started, but now it has dropped off significantly."
(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Caristi at [email protected] or (765) 285-1480. For more stories, visit the Ball State University News Center at www.bsu.edu/news on the World Wide Web.)
Marc Ransford1/18/01
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