mugenhunt t1_iwzrjvq wrote
From a network side of things, if I could choose between an animated action show that is getting money from advertising and from merchandising, or one that is only getting money from advertising, I know which one I'll pick. From a network point of view, it's the logical choice to cancel the show that isn't making merchandise sales on top of the advertising money to free up room for a new show that might do better in that regard.
From an artistic point of view that's awful, but if you're looking at things from just the financial perspective, networks have limited amount of resources and they want to maximize the profit they make from those resources.
TheSeventhAnimorph t1_iwzzw3l wrote
And then there's Disney Channel, which doesn't even try to make merchandise for most of their shows.
OneGoodRib t1_ix0xqzl wrote
And don't they still not have ads on Disney Channel other than for other Disney things?
Bobby_Marks2 t1_ix2t0gg wrote
That's the point. Disney Channel is just a place for Disney to capture the audience into the ecosystem. You watch Disney Channel, and you're likely to go see Disney movies in theater. You watch Disney Channel, then you go to Disneyland which in turn drives you to go buy Disney merch and see Disney movies. You see Disney movies, then you go to Disney Channel to watch bonus content and spin-offs and sequels. Disney+ is doing all of this now.
Granted, they do produce merch for their successful content. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Hanna Montana, etc. all got plenty of merch out there - we just don't see it because it doesn't have broad enough appeal to sit on Walmart shelves next to Marvel and Star Wars and Pokemon.
sgavary OP t1_iwztjey wrote
But isn't there kind of a trade off, like you lose money in merch sales, but you'll get more money with increasing viewership?
mugenhunt t1_iwztquk wrote
The big thing is that you would need to have a massive increase in viewership to balance out the loss of merchandise sales, and that rarely happens on a large enough scale for the network to feel that keeping the show alive is worth it.
Merchandise sales are huge, and advertising only goes so far.
sgavary OP t1_iwzxwx6 wrote
Then how are shows like Yellowstone able to thrive off of it when every episode costs 3.5 million?
mugenhunt t1_iwzyeam wrote
Different expectations for different genres of shows. No one is expecting a drama aimed at adults to be selling lots of toys.
It's not that a show can't make enough money to support itself through advertising or streaming subscription fees alone. But that if a network has to choose between paying for a show that isn't selling a lot of merchandise, and one that is, they will pick the one that makes them more money.
CableCoShow t1_ix150vc wrote
A show or film that sells a lot of merch will dwarf the ad or box office revenue. Disney discovered this after Pixar had a few hits and they shifted their strategy to put out stuff that would sell merch. The box office from Pixar's biggest hit is like 1/10th or maybe even 1/100th of what they make in consumer products. That's why they only make Pixar, Disney Animation, Marvel, and Star Wars movies these days. Those films sell merch.
trialrun1 t1_ix2b72a wrote
You throw in merch sales, and Cars is the biggest Pixar movie of all time. It's not even close.
Marvel's Spider-man deal with Sony was basically them realizing that they made so much money on merchandise every time a Spider-Man movie came out that the actual prophet on the movie itself is kinda irrelevant. So Sony gets to keep Spider-man rights forever as long as they put out a Spider-Man movie every three years or something like that.
Bobby_Marks2 t1_ix2t70m wrote
>You throw in merch sales, and Cars is the biggest Pixar movie of all time. It's not even close.
trialrun1 t1_ix69g4g wrote
Last time I checked was pre Toy Story 4 so it's totally possible that Toy Story as a franchise has overtaken Cars. I know that each Toy Story has out grossed the previous one in terms of toy sales while I think it goes the other way for Cars and the first Cars movie might still be the highest grossing individual movie in terms of merch for the company.
Agent_Angelo_Pappas t1_ix30bdp wrote
The core demographic for these animated shows isn’t all that discerning. Most kids aren’t looking for complex storylines, character depth, and multi-layered dialogue, they’re fine with cheap jokes and seeing things hit other things
qtx t1_ix3q5ib wrote
Not a lot of people watch cartoons. It's a niche genre. It just seems like it's bigger than it is because of the people you surround yourself with.
aw-un t1_ix1tol2 wrote
Often times, the network is not the one benefitting from the merchandising (unless the show is made in house)
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