The Cheapest Talk Show on Television
On Friday, April 21st at 5pm, Frank TV will be taping it’s last episode. For those who are unaware, Frank TV is a weekly sketch show that airs on TBS and has been running for two seasons since November of 2007. I was a staff writer for the first season and was brought back to write for the second season after the first team of writers left. In addition to being written by me and a handful of other comedy writers, the show is performed by Frank Caliendo, one of the most well known impressionists in the country.
I was introduced to Frank through my friend Mike MacRae, who you might remember from this blog. He got me on a gig with Frank when I was unemployed in 2006 and introduced me to Michael McDonald (the showrunner) in 2007. All told, I’ve worked for Frank on five different projects over four years and I’ve learned a lot about the business through him.
When we started writing this season in June of 2009, it seemed like we had a hit on our hands. The ratings were good, we had just signed with TBS for another season (which would have been our third), and we had just heard that our
The Cheapest Talk Show in Television
I was watching the news the other day and they were talking about how a local talk show host had recently been fired. The station didn’t get good ratings, so they decided to fire the host and hire someone else. I don’t know what the ratings are now, but I would assume that they are probably on par with where they were before. But this got me thinking; what do you have to do to get good ratings on a talk show?
The Cheapest Talk Show in Television is, quite simply, the cheapest talk show on TV. The show is broadcast from an old studio, with no script and only one camera. It’s basically a one-man operation. And yet it has been running for nearly 30 years. How is this possible?
Let’s take a look at the host himself. His name is Tom Frank and he is an extremely talented guy who knows how to entertain people. He is incredibly quick witted and can make almost anything funny. He also has an amazing ability to think on his feet, which allows him to react to whatever situation may arise (and there are plenty of those).
Tom Frank’s personality also helps a lot. He seems very genuine and down-to-earth, which
The Jerry Springer Show is, without a doubt, the cheapest talk show on TV. The content of the show is trashy and the production values are low. The host has no real talent. Yet, it remains one of the most popular shows on television.
The show is a perfect case study in how to be successful in any business – even when you are small or don’t have much money.
Here are some of the lessons we can learn from Jerry:
1) Don’t try to please everyone.
The show’s success is largely due to this rule. The show is meant for a specific audience and it doesn’t try to appeal to anyone else. Springer’s producers know that there are many people out there who will not like what they do, but they also know there are millions of people who do like it. Instead of attempting to make everyone happy (which would be impossible), they focus on pleasing those who enjoy their work and ignore those who don’t.
2) Focus on your strengths and give them what they want.
Springer’s audience wants drama and conflict, so that’s all they get with the show. They understand exactly who their target market is and have learned exactly what that market wants. They don’t try to outdo Oprah
I was in the newsroom of WLUK-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin when a local cable show called “The Morning Blend” came on. I had never watched this show and I actually didn’t know it existed. The show intrigued me because of its low production values, but after watching for about 10 minutes I realized it was one of the funniest and cleverest talk shows on television.
I did some research on the show and found out that it is produced by a Milwaukee production company called Circle Media, Inc. and is syndicated to small markets such as Green Bay, La Crosse, Eau Claire, and Wausau. The show has a very simple format: two attractive female hosts talk about various topics with an expert guest who usually has some sort of book or product to promote. Despite its low production values (i.e., low lighting and no video cues), it works because the hosts are fun to watch and it has a lot of energy (something most morning shows lack).
One thing that struck me about the show was how much more entertaining it was than any other syndicated daytime talk show and yet it is probably one of the cheapest to produce. It seems like every major market has at least
I’ve been watching the local morning talk show on the FOX affiliate in my home town. My family often has the TV on in the morning, and I pass through the kitchen at various points throughout the day, so I’ve seen a lot of episodes of this show.
The first thing that stands out about this show is how low-budget it is. The set is pretty basic, and cameras are few and far between. They do at least seem to have acquired a teleprompter for the hosts, but for their guests they still roll out an old-fashioned cue card stand.
Most of the guests are local celebrities or people with something interesting to say about a local news story. The hosts are a husband and wife team who seem quite enthusiastic about their work, but aren’t really polished enough to be national broadcasters.
I think my favorite part of watching this show has been seeing how they go about booking and interviewing their guests. Because they don’t have unlimited resources like larger market shows do, they have to be very efficient with what they do have. They put a priority on having guests who can make interesting contributions to their show rather than just getting “names” for people to recognize. Their interviews tend to focus on what’s really important about a person or topic
Hosted by Jamie Kennedy, “Blank Check with Griffin and David” is a film based podcast where each episode covers a single movie that made over $100 million dollars. The show is unique in many ways especially in the world of podcasting. First off, it’s only half an hour long. Second, their ad reads are quick and to the point. Third, it’s free to listen to on iTunes and on their website.
But why would I care about a podcast coming out of Austin Texas? Well because the show uses a smaller market to its advantage and still posts some impressive numbers including over 60 episodes and rising, over a million downloads per month and plenty of opportunity for sponsorships.
The premise of the show is simple: Griffin Newman (who you may know as Arthur from Amazon’s The Tick) and David Sims (writer for The Atlantic) discuss movies that have made a ton of money whether they are good or not. And while plenty of podcasts have tackled similar topics before including How Did This Get Made?, Blank Check brings some much needed freshness to the genre by focusing on one movie at a time rather than several per episode. This means that each episode gets deep into exactly why these movies are so successful even
I’ve been watching a lot of local television lately. I’m sure it’s not the same everywhere, but here in Boston there are several local morning shows that range from terrible to horrendous. And there’s one that’s good. It’s called “Greater Boston Arts,” or something like that.
The show is hosted by a cheerful guy named Billy Costa, and his sidekick, Sue O’Connell, who is not nearly as cheerful as he is. Their format is simple: they talk to people about their current projects and artistic endeavors, mostly theater and film, but also books and architecture. They don’t give the guests much time—each segment is maybe two minutes long—and they don’t ask penetrating questions. The guests plug whatever they’re promoting, and then Billy moves on to the next person.
In terms of production values and professionalism, the show is totally amateurish. The set looks like a junior-high-school drama club built it; the hosts often stumble over their introductions; I’m pretty sure the cameramen sometimes fall asleep or go off to get coffee during the broadcast; and both hosts seem easily distracted when they should be listening to the guests. The whole thing seems less like a TV show than like your uncle’s home movies that
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