14 DAY TRIAL // Loyal fans of ABC’s hit series “Lost” have the final meeting with the characters in it set for May 23, when they’ll get a key to unlock all the mysteries that have kept them glued to their television set for so long. In exchange for that, ABC will be making millions from advertising, with companies being willing to pay up to $900,000 for a 30-second spot, AdAge informs.
Though the show has taken a plunge in ratings in its past couple of seasons, the finale will undoubtedly see a boost, as numbers already indicate. Because of the complexity of the plot, “Lost” has often been described as a show that is not really inviting for new audiences and actually a bit difficult to follow by those who’ve already seen a few episodes. Nevertheless, those fans that do stick with it, do so until the end, which enables the network to bet heavily on the finale with advertisers.
“The cost of a 30-second ad in the final episode of the series is coming in around a whopping $900,000, according to media buyers. Buyers suggest ABC has been seeking between $850,000 and $950,000 for an ad berth. ABC executives declined to comment. During last year’s upfront, a 30-second spot for ‘Lost’ was selling for an average of $213,563, according to Advertising Age’s annual survey of ad costs in prime-time broadcast shows. At $900,000 a spot, ABC is clearing a markup north of 400% from advertisers who didn’t reserve their time in the show last year,” AdAge writes, citing inside reports.
“The series finale of ‘Lost’ is slated to air as part of a three-hour block on Sunday, May 23. The 8 p.m. hour of the evening will be devoted to a recap of the mysterious show and the last episode will run from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. The hefty cost – the price is just $400,000 to $600,000 less than the cost of a 30-second spot in this year’s Oscars broadcast – further illustrates the interest advertisers have in so-called event programming. With audiences increasingly watching TV programs at times of their own choosing and through nontraditional methods such as DVR playback, assembling a large crowd has become a much tougher task,” the same publication informs.
Given that the fans do not really fit the same mold as those who watch sitcoms, the “Lost” finale is being billed as an “event” and not as the end of a simple show. Nevertheless, though the numbers for it are great, they’re a far cry from what some sitcoms made in the past: “Mash” (1983) made $450,000 for a 30-second spot in the finale, “Seinfeld” (1998) between $1.4 and 1.8 million, “Everybody Loves Raymond” (2005) $1.3 million, and “Friends” (2004) between $1.5 and 2.3 million.