4 chapters across the catalog
A producer details the high costs of COVID-19 compliance on a $3 million commercial shoot in Las Vegas. Approximately 10% of the budget ($300,000) was spent on testing, coordinators, and PPE kits. The hosts characterize the industry as a "bonanza" for testing companies and compliance personnel.
Mainstream Podcast Production Costs and Bureaucracy
A breakdown of a mainstream media podcast production brief reveals excessive costs and bureaucratic layers. The hosts mock the allocated hours for hosts and editors, as well as the requirement for "audience testing" and multiple rounds of feedback for a simple pilot.
A comparison between podcasting and network television suggests that a show with 100,000 listeners should theoretically generate $100,000 to $200,000 per episode if it followed commercial advertising models. Currently, the show brings in roughly 1% of that amount through donations. The hosts defend their request for more funding by pointing out the actual labor involved in research and production compared to "free" hobbyist podcasts.
The show concludes with a discussion on the economics of podcasting versus traditional broadcast television. Adam Curry explains CPM (cost per mille) rates and compares them to the "dollar a head" budget model used in network TV. The hosts sign off after a 70-minute episode, mentioning the high cost of aviation fuel and ammunition as metaphors for their production efforts.
