Eli5: How do TV shows like Total Wipeout or Euphoria etc make a profit?

Question

Not necessarily reality just TV shows like Total Wipeout, but TV shows in general.

I saw that Zendaya gets paid 1 mill USD per episode to be in Euphoria, which is INSANE. How do the creators of these shows make a profit? Where exactly is the income coming from?

In: 5

Answer 1

Networks and streaming services bid and pay for the show. They base this cost based on the expected revenue from subscriptions or commercials for the show.

Big Bang theory had 5 actors making $1,000,000 per episode. I believe the supporting cast members made up to $500,000 per episode. All for a 1/2-hour show.

The sheer amounts of money networks make on advertising is…well staggering.