Economics Blog Post:
BBC’s Sherlock and the Economy
BBC has been quite popular throughout the world, and it only seems to increase its popularity because of its creation in outstanding TV shows. With many British TV shows, it has made its way to U.S. television and throughout many countries in the world. Sherlock is one of many TV shows made from BBC, and it has increased its popularity since its release to the public in 2010. This series is based on Sir Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes novels, but it’s modernized to fit the current generation with the creativity and uniqueness to add. With only three seasons, and a fourth coming in January, the high demand for the show will only be getting higher.
Sherlock has gotten fantastic financial boosts for BBC, and it’s one of its biggest selling exports. These exports have helped demographically because it is licensed to 224 territories worldwide--which is higher than any other program in the UK. This also includes how international sales have increased by 9.6% because of this population difference in each country. The head of BBC drama expects the fourth season to better the third financially, which will help aid in the demand for the series as a product. BBC Worldwide has generated more profits each year, and had an 11% rise on the previous year--making the funding budget even higher than it was before. Because Sherlock is licensed to PBS in the U.S., it has helped in the process of higher budgets for the future shows, as well. “Sherlock has made a lot of money”, Stephenson stated, “In the US, the assumption is you have to make 12 or 24 episodes. Sherlock has made nine episodes over the course of three years, yet it’s been such a big hit. Ultimately, it comes down to amazing creativity--whatever its shape or size, creativity does drive commerciality.” Mainly, the vast creativity in this show has improved profits and caused higher demand than most TV shows.
With this creativity, the demand of the series has increased, causing the supply to decrease. The DVD of series three received the most pre-orders for a series yet to be broadcasted, and it has caused prices to increase for some time. But because of these big fans, it causes the Sherlock products to be inelastic. The quantity demanded for these few seasons--and its products--does not change much despite any price change made. “The amazing thing about Sherlock is that every time we’ve done it, sales and ratings have gone up,” Stephen added. “We sold to 224 countries last year, and I think that will continue to rise.” Because of the overall popularity of the show, it is estimated to be one of their top profits in the next year due to the coming of the fourth season. This consistent demand for the show has impacted how the directors and producers are affected positively in the entertainment business, and with more to come in the next season, the successes will only rise for BBC.
Works Cited
Barrett, Claer. "'Sherlock' a Big Winner for BBC's Finances." Financial Times. British
Broadcasting Corp, 26 Aug. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2016.
"BBC - BBC Worldwide Delivers a Strong Performance in Spite of Currency Challenges - Media Centre." BBC News. BBC. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
Sweney, Mark, and Tara Conlan. "BBC Worldwide Reports Record Underlying Profits." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 12 July 2011. Web. 21 Dec. 2016.
I have watched, and enjoyed, this show so I can see the appeal. Frankly, it’s amazing that a show with three episode seasons that come out maybe once a year (there are usually longer breaks, though) still has such an avid following, myself included. In this case, the factors of demand are pertinent. Demand increases as quality does, quantity is not as big of a factor in this case. The show is written and produced in an innovative and unique way, enough so to attract a diverse, widespread audience. The appeal is so great that I’ll watch the show even though I can’t stand the producer, because the rest of the production team makes up for what he lacks, quite honestly. It’s a show that probably wasn’t expected to exceed as much as it did, but nonetheless, BBC’s earnings are better off for it.
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that you decided to focus in on only one show instead of focusing on the network as a whole. After reading your piece it is apparent that Sherlock is this company's most popular show. Usually people do get bored or forget about the show if there aren’t episodes in a long time, so the fact that the show is still so successful after only shooting 9 episodes in 3 years is astonishing. However, I do not think that BBC will continue to grow as fast as it is if they don’t come out with another show that is equally as good or better than Sherlock because eventually people will want new shows, and if BBS doesn’t have them, then they will turn to other options.
ReplyDeleteEven though producing a low number of episodes leads to the risk of audiences loosing interest over time, it could also be a positive in some viewers minds. If there are less episodes to get through, the opportunity cost of watching it would be much lower if a consumer decided to watch this so as opposed to others with many long seasons. When I personally look for new shows on Netflix, I try to find shorter shows so it won't take too long to get throguh them. That is how I found Sherlock a couple years ago and I still follow it.
ReplyDeleteSherlock is an engaging show that equates to a large percent of my leisure time, whenever a new season is released. Each season is known to be short yet each of the episodes are long enough to be considered short movies. This set-up is quite helpful for busy viewers as they tend to find time for an episode a week, whereas if it were a sitcom with 30 episodes a season, each 30 minutes long, binge watching would exist as a negative externality and take the fun and mystery out of the show.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that Sherlock is an amazing show and not only because the talented actors that are on the show, but the incredible effectiveness of the story. The creators of Sherlock seem to take the original stories of Sherlock and completely reinvent them into the entertainment that is so enjoyed today. Even though each episode could count as a movie in itself (usually being around an hour and a half), the series captivates just about anyone who decides to tune into the mystery. The elaborate plot lines that hook people around the world not only increase the viewership but also allow for high budget actors (such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman) to star in the show. In the first year, it cost close to a million dollars to produce but has proven to get much more than the projected failure it was set up to be. All in all, the show has a fabulous potential to continue to grow and manifest its way into culture in a bigger way than many expected.
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ReplyDeleteMe, being a Netflix binge watcher, am shocked by the popularity of this TV show knowing it only developed 9 episodes in the course of 3 years. And since I've never watched Sherlock it makes me want to watch it now knowing that it's BBC's most favorited show. It's amazing knowing how many positive effects this show has had on our economy such as increasing international sales, increasing profits, and helping increase the budget of upcoming TV shows. Overall, BBC definitely made the right choice in creating this show
ReplyDeleteSherlock is one of my favorite shows of all time. Ever since I started watching, I became obsessed with the storyline, the characters, everything. Before I did start to watch, I thought the very few number of episodes was weird and would make people uninterested, but afterwards I understood that, although it does make people go mad, it makes them want more and more. I mean, the 2016 special that aired last year had a crazy amount of views domestically in the UK and around the world. Seeing as the second episode of the fourth series airs tonight, millions of people are excited to see what this new series has to offer. And as an avid fan, I can say that since the first episode of the series made me cry, I’m pretty sure this one will be just as great. Besides the technicalities of the show, another major part of its appeal are the actors. Because, who doesn’t love Benedict Cumberbatch? And along with Martin Freeman, they make an amazing duo. It’s because of this show and these characters, that the gay ship of “Johnlock” came to be, and it is one of (if not the most) popular ship in all of the Internet. The fandom for Sherlock is crazy, and BBC has done amazing things to make it bigger and better.
ReplyDeleteWith "Sherlock" being one of my favorite shows, I never did make the connection between the show an economics. BBC made a great choice to keep continuing this series, because as each episode is released, the more ratings and fans the series seems to gain. I know that I am always eagerly waiting for the next episode to be released like many of the other "Sherlock" fans out there. Maybe even with the new season, BBC will increase the demographic of the series, allowing for the following of the show to continue to grow.
ReplyDeleteSherlock is a very good show, and it is not a surprise that it is even with the limited amount of episodes that they have released within the past 3 years. The creativity and content of the show are so rich that it is easy to get by with the amount of episodes that they have. I also think that since these shows are so rich and come out so sporadically, it increases the demand of the show, keeping the anticipation up and not overloading the viewers with so much that they will find it repetitive and boring.
ReplyDeleteI, personally, thought "Sherlock" was an amazing show, but I am not surprised about how it turned out. It was a great show, and it also had a great variety of episodes that weren't repetitive of each other, which made it very exciting.
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