Sqrambled Scuares

[Clay Zambo]

[quote name=\'Matt Ottinger\' post=\'164256\' date=\'Sep 19 2007, 10:11 AM\']
We tape three shows a night (from about 6pm to about 9pm), either one or two nights a week, from September through February, excluding December.  We pride ourselves on the fact that there is NO post.  Not only do we almost always get the show live-to-tape, but in the rare event that we do have a stoppage, we find an edit point and continue the show from that point live on the master tape.[/quote]

Dude.  Somebody at Endemol or Freemantle *seriously* needs to take a lesson from you.  

...After that, there's maybe a thousand dollars we use to buy our players lovely parting gifts with our logo on them...

Is it because you're a PBS joint that you can't get those provided to you (or at a very reduced rate) in exchange for an on-air credit?

[geno57]

I'm pretty impressed with the Sqrambled Scuares.  What I like the most, is that it could help to revive actual local TV production ... which is mostly a lost art.  It seems to be a pretty successful show.  Good luck on the syndication of the franchise.

[Matt Ottinger]

[quote name=\'Clay Zambo\' post=\'164257\' date=\'Sep 19 2007, 10:40 AM\']Is it because you're a PBS joint that you can't get those provided to you (or at a very reduced rate) in exchange for an on-air credit?[/quote]
It's a station policy thing mostly.  They're pretty hardline (probably more than they need to be) about tit-for-tat promotional consideration.  Naturally, a commercial proposition like Scuares wouldn't have that problem.

[BrandonFG]

Reading this, I'm reminded of the marketing class I took in college. :-)

My mind's running on all eight cylinders right now, so this might be all over the place. Say I'm planning on twenty episodes for a season (weekly). What's a feasible prize budget for a year of shows, and is 20 too many or too little?

Using my show's format, my math shows anywhere between $14,200-17,000 for the year:
-$10K of which involves a maximum weekly grand prize of $500 (500x20)
-$4,000 would be max main game winnings (total of $200 offered per episode) (200x20)
-up to $2,800 in bonus consolation money ($140 max) (140x20)
-another $500 for gift certificates/cards as consolation prizes, $25 each (25x20)

Of course, I could try to find sponsorship in exchange for commercial time as well, but is this a feasible prize budget? In fact, I'd drop the $2,800 in consolation money for more gift certificates/cards, if it means sponsorship and saving money. Then there's staffing...sigh.

[bumble]

Thank you to all who took the time to check out Sqrambled Scuares.  Your kind comments and constructive criticism is very much appreciated.  Take care, Buzz