Banking on the Huxtables
When it comes to commercial success, no other TV program in history can beat “The Cosby Show,” which airs its last new episode tonight on NBC.
Not only did the series’ eight-year run smash all kinds of rating records--one 1987 episode drew 82 million viewers--but “Cosby” went on to gush more profits than most Hollywood blockbusters.
At one point in 1990, the producers of the show--so confident of its value to NBC--tried toextract a $100-million “signing bonus” from the network to renew the series. They failed, but managed to extract $2.6 million per episode--an all-time record.
When the ratings slipped, NBC reduced its license fee to $2 million per episode for the eighth and final season--still steep enough that NBC has recorded virtually no profit on “Cosby” the past two years.
Premiered: Sept. 20, 1984
Seasons: 8
Number of episodes: 197
Average rating, eight seasons: 22.7% of TV households
Highest rating: 41.3% of TV households (1987)
Average 30-second ad rate, 1991-92 season: $200,000
Average total advertising per episode, 1991-92 season: $1.2 million
Fee NBC pays producers per episode, 1991-92 season: $2 million
Bill Cosby’s fee per episode, 1991-92 season: $250,000
Total syndication revenue, to date: $803.4 million
Average syndication revenue per episode, to date: $4.1 million
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