how much for "as seen on TV"?

February 8, 2008 10:30 AM

Say I wanted to make an infomercial...any ideas on how much a 30 minute infomercial would cost? and how much airtime costs or where to find out?

I've contacted a production company for a quote but this is all very foreign to me! I'm trying to get rough estimates for a business plan and have no idea where to look...

posted by beckish to media & arts (7 comments total)

Here's an FAQ on Infomercials that has all the information you should need and some handy terminology. By the way, I found this by googling "Infomerical costs".
posted by MeetMegan at 11:35 AM on February 8

Finding the cost of airtime is as simple as calling the local television station you want to run the infomercial, and asking for the sales department. They'll let you know quickly what to expect, in terms of cost and when it would run (basically when few people are watching, unless you've got the bucks).

Shooting an infomercial is another matter entirely, and there are way too many questions to answer first. What is being shot? Where? Multiple locations, or can it all be done in a studio? Do you have space that can be made into a studio, or will you have to rent out an area? Will you have actors (likely covered by union regulations) or volunteers (who are hit-or-miss in quality, and probably still want to get paid) on camera? The local station (or community channel) will likely be able to do this as well (for a fee of course), using their news crews (who are generally competent albeit lacking in passion for the product).

You may be able to get the station to do it as a package deal for cheaper.

As an alternative, approach small local ad agencies to see what they'd charge. If you need it on the real cheap, see if there's a media school near you teaching film and television. It will cost less, and if you're lucky you'll get a keen student needing to fill a resumé.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 11:40 AM on February 8

Thanks for the good suggestions GITM, I was a bit vague with the details...in answer to your questions: it would be shot 2 locations: a local outdoor natural setting and an indoor location that we would provide. My partner is the actress, so we don't need that. We will probably need some graphics but we will take care of all props and scripting, etc. we won't need music.
anything else?
posted by beckish at 11:57 AM on February 8

OK, outdoor shooting brings a whole host of problems (lighting, weather, sound, permission to shoot, public interference) you'll have to consider. Whatever you can eliminate from that will help you (for instance, recording a voiceover in a studio instead of having someone speaking on camera outdoors). Be prepared for this to be a long part of your overall shoot.

Hopefully your partner has some on camera experience? Because I've had shoots with polished speakers who have no problem addressing an audience of several hundred in person, suddenly seize up and unable to deliver even a simple line naturally once they're looking into a camera lens.

No music? Really? Do you mean you already have music (that you have broadcast rights to), or you're going without music (which would be really, really bad)? Most production houses have royalty-free libraries they can use, so don't think you can't afford something worthwhile.
posted by GhostintheMachine at 12:07 PM on February 8

I understand that outdoors will be difficult but we think it's necessary--even just short bits.

My partner has on-air live and taped TV experience so that should be fine. and she's good!

not sure about the music, we don't have anything in mind now and can always add it to the quote later.

What we're trying to do is get a very basic estimate or range for the costs--I don't know all the details yet but need a really loose estimate for our business plan. any ideas?
posted by beckish at 12:15 PM on February 8

I think you're having a hard time getting concrete answers because production costs vary so much depending on where you are. One thing I do know: You can save yourself some big bucks by going somewhere in the middle of the country and taking advantage of much lower production costs. There's some very good production houses in cities like Dallas, Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Kansas City and Omaha.

But really, this is something you can find out by simply calling a few places. If you google "infomercial production" there are literally dozens of pages of places to get a quick answer to your question - especially if you're wanting "ballpark" quotes.
posted by Gerard Sorme at 3:35 PM on February 8

From my boyfriend, who just had an infomercial created, and is currently media testing it:

Production costs for a 30-minute spot will run ~ $200K (in New York). A 2-minute spot, in comparison, is around $70K. The costs will be higher if you need any personalities/characters. In addition, the production house generally also take a cut of your revenue or do your media buying. He used Mayhew Breen in NY, but they do shoots all over the country.

With regards to the airtime... if you want to roll it out nationally, you need to work with a media buyer with experience with direct marketing. You tell them how much you want to spend, and the types of networks, and they buy the media for you. He ran a media test for his 2-minute spot, and it cost $20K and covered 10 cable channels over a weekend. Currently, it's difficult to clear media (actually get your commercial aired) because of high demand (probably election related).

Feel free to send me a message if you have any other questions... the strategy might be different depending on the type of product.
posted by snickerdoodle at 6:20 PM on February 8