Eurovision 2011 - 10/12/14 May 2011

Thanks. So how could someone invest towards the cost of the production of the Blu-ray release(s) for a percentage of any profits that were made by them?

Think it would depend on how the current DVD is produced. You'd almost certainly have to take over the DVD release as well - as they wouldn't want two competing AV releases (selling the BD would hit DVD sales) - they'd want the BD and DVD to be complementary and handled by the same operation.

I don't know whether the EBU sell the DVD rights to a 3rd party, or sub-contract the DVD mastering and production but handle distribution and sales of it themselves.

(The CD is a CMC/EMI release)

However I suspect the sales of the DVD are still quite low (it hardly troubles the shelves on the UK high street retailers who deal in the high-volume sales) - so I'd be surprised if any "investment" wasn't just a subsidy. Looking at amazon.co.uk it isn't in the Top 100 pre-orders.

That would be a HUGE change - and could cause a lot of countries to drop out. The show is currently good value for anyone apart from the winner. It isn't cheap - but it isn't hugely expensive either - the licensing fee is pretty well set I believe.

Obviously competing countries still have to fund their delegations - you don't get free travel or accommodation for your artists, commentators, producers etc. It isn't as if NRK have been providing free board and lodging!



I think that all the income is used to offset the hosting and operation costs that the EBU and the host broadcaster incurr each year - I don't think it is a profit-generating operation.

I'm not so sure about that. I remember last year Spain complained that usually they (and presumably all the other broadcasters) would eventually get their participation fee back from the EBU implying that normally they make enough money to actually pay broadcasters back (effectively making the show free for broadcasters to take part in and screen, aside from travel costs ). I guess since last year with the most expensive show ever and in a recession they wouldn't have made much if any money and that might well continue this year given the financial difficulties still experienced by many.

I'm not sure if the participation fee is the same as the licensing fee though.

Oh right yes, that would make more sense than a free programme!

I guess too those that rely on advertising don't get much money out of it. Most of the breaks are only a minute long, and I think there are only three during the performances, a couple during the interval and perhaps one during the voting - so that would be six minutes over a three hour show.

Surely those 6 minutes would be of a premium though? The total duration of ad space isn't really that important, it's what you can sell it for

But even if they are paying a premium, would they be effectively paying 3-4 times the going rate to cover the usual advertising revenue of the night?

The amount of Advertising in the contest is actually quite cleverly handled. There are obvious slots that stand out, but the key element is the 15min reprise, some countries opt out of more of this, than is inferred by the presentation. Some have also dropped the interval act completely in the past for more advertising.

In theory the maximum available is around 20 minutes in total,

Yep - if you want to know how much advertising is possible in the semi-finals - imagine that whenever you see Paddy or Sarah in-vision on BBC Three, some other country is selling you soap powder or dog food.

But right now it is the 5th best selling Music DVD on Amazon UK (though that doesn't tell actual sales numbers - and it will probably go down the list quickly after this month) - top 315 in DVD overall, but it's currently ahead of other Music DVDs that also have a Blu-ray release.