Y&R: Where does all the money come from?

[sheilaforever]

We’ve all rejoiced how great Y&R is these days but one thing is bugging me: Where’s all the money coming from for all those new sets, the location shoot and the returnees...

Bringing back the old music does not a thing but I’m asking because I fear that a result of this lushness could be a pink-slipping season for expensive cast members come next year if it isn’t financed properly.

Are it the licensing fees from additional (online) distribution, did Bill Bell Jr. open the piggy bank or is just better management?

I just don’t see anyone putting any additional money INTO Y&R, especially not SONY who needs all the cash coming OUT of Y&R to hold its business together in the current economy. Same goes for CBS where Viacom is in turmoil of cutting costs.

The Bells single-handedly financing the show also seems highly unlikely. So does the new richness really just steam from fixing LML’s mismanagement???

I could see LML pet Vincent Irizarry getting the same money like Eileen Davidson so her income is compensated. Chloe, Billy, Tyra, the new cop are all newbies and hence cheap.

But this doesn’t explain the spread of new sets galore: Under LML we basically got absolutely no new sets; and if we did they looked cheaper and smaller than on General Hospital.

Fast-forward two years, have Paul Rauch walking the studio and there are loads of new sets, often just for temporary use (I don’t recall this set influx since the 80s), still having one thing in common: they look stunning. Probably, it is also better directing which makes the sets look bigger than they actually are but it still costs money.

Going back that likely Y&R is having the same budget as it did last year when LML was still wreaking havoc out of her and hubby’s ashes it means that LML must have spent so much cash on herself, her hubby and her cronies along with one time ludicrous stunt events and pop music...

It’s rather infuriating to see how great the show can look and failed to do so not only creatively but also production-wise when LML was in charge. This should be reason for a life-long job-ban, IMO.

Thoughts?

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I read somewhere a few months ago that Y&R's ad rates were the same from last year and the year before, while some soaps ad rates decreased. As much as Latham and Griffith sucked, I think they saved a lot of money by not using many sets and not creating many new sets. Also, it's got to free up a lot of money now that they're not employing LML's 100 member writing staff.

Y&R is now also the most widely distributed soap opera in the US. It's on SoapNet, CBS.com, CBS, Fancast, MSN, and legally on YouTube. They must be making some profits off of these ventures. Not to mention Y&R's worldwide distribution.

I also think Paul Rauch, as an EP with experience, knows what he's doing. Latham and Griffith had no technical producing experience AT ALL. I don't think it's any coincidence that once Rauch came in, the production shot up and the show was produced a lot more cohesively again. He and Maria must know how to balance a good budget, or else we wouldn't be getting all this grandness.

In other words, the management at the show is better and there's now more avenues of revenue, so it all works out.

[Aback]

I've been wondering that myself, especially since it wasn't long ago that Jack Smith constantly complained about their 'low budget' when he fired someone (John Enos, David Lago etc).

[kalbir]

The international broadcasts are probably why B&B is never hurting for cash either. I've never seen the exact numbers anywhere, but I think B&B airs in about 100 countries, and Y&R airs in about 50. I'm guessing Y&R is more popular in Canada, Australia, France, Israel while B&B is more popular in Italy, Greece, northern Europe, eastern Europe.

[YRBB]

Well, Y&R's numbers are far better in Greece than B&B's are (and its timeslot is much better).

It seems as if there has been much better handling of the economics lately. The show looks lush and rich.

[DaytimeFan]

It's a combination of things.

For starters, the bloated (and overpaid) LML staff of writers is gone.

Then you've got Paul Rauch who knows how to balance a budget.

Then you've got the international broadcasts which have been expanded for Y&R in the last few years.

Then you've got the fact that Y&R's ad rates have not declined.

And then, perhaps, you've got the Bells chipping in some money. They've done that at B&B from time to time, it wouldn't surprise me if they did it at Y&R too.

[BadZoe]

Maybe Y&R gets paid for some of the favors they are doing for others.

[Gray Bunny]

See, I've wondered the opposite in recent couple of years. Like when they said John Enos, etc. was let go for budget reasons, along with Y&R's constant use of sets like the GCAC, Newman offices, Tack house, etc..... all the while earning ratings in the upper 3's and lower 4's.

Back in the late 90's/early 00's, GL had the same numbers and you'd see them going to the Florida Keys, Puerto Rico, doing big-budget events like the San Cristobel earthquake, Beth hanging from a tower, etc.

So it comes as no surprise that Y&R has *some* money to go around (and a coincidence? Paul Rauch was EP of GL back in the aforementioned era).

[aMLCproduction]

THe show has been number one for how many years? SO yes I assume they have a good budget.