How do game shows/networks have so much money to give away as rewards?
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They generally still work out to be cheaper than other shows, because so many of the other costs that TV shows have are gone or reduced. No actors to pay. Often only one host. You don’t need a massive crew since they’re just doing the same things every episode. The set never changes so you only need to pay for that once, and it doesn’t cost a whole lot to set up some podiums and a screen. You need a few writers. But there’s really not much else.
They get that money from advertising like anyone else. That’s why game shows in smaller countries like the UK have smaller prizes, they’ve got less money coming in from advertising so less to give away.
And most of this can be calculated. Sometimes you have a show like Jeopardy where someone always wins so you just have to calculate what the average person will win and make sure it’s less than what each episode earns. On other game shows, most people don’t win anything, so they can save money by making the game more difficult.
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