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.