Churchill Show is one of the most popular television shows in the country, but do you know how much it costs to produce a single episode?
It is estimated that the production budget for one episode of the show hosted by Daniel Ndambuki (Churchill) hovers around Sh1.5 Million.
This is higher than the average for most locally produced TV shows whose budgets usually range between Sh300,000 and Sh450,000 for half-hour episodes and between Sh500,000 and Sh700,000 for hour-long episodes.
Some shows, however, manage to work with meagre budgets. Popular reality show, Nairobi Diaries, for example, costs approximately Sh150,000 per episode, according to industry insiders who spoke to Buzz.
These budgets cover everything from story editors, camera operators, floor managers, gaffers, makeup artistes, costume designers, researchers, directors, casting directors, set designers, scriptwriters, post-production facilities and more.
[caption caption="Comedian MCA Tricky performing on Churchill Show (Courtesy)"]
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In many cases, the money that eventually gets to the cast and crew is incredibly low.
High-quality productions with proper funding, however, are much more expensive affairs. An episode of Coke Studio, for example, costs between Sh2.8 Million and Sh3 Million to produce.
In Kenya, broadcasters typically give the required budget to production companies who, in turn, make the show and pay everyone involved in its creation.
This partly explains why soap operas dominate TV screens in Kenya as they cost less for broadcasters to acquire compared to local productions.
A single soap opera episode usually costs local networks between Sh50,000 to Sh70,000.
The networks recoup their money by airing advertisements during the shows.
[caption caption="Comedian Professor Hamo performing on Churchill Show (Courtesy)"]
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