Hollywood relying more on franchises

June 16, 2008 The cost of advertising on TV, still Hollywood's ad medium of choice, continues to creep up even as the audience declines, with the recently ended May sweeps clocking 7 million fewer viewers per night compared with pre-writer's strike November. Studios are demanding more for their spending, such as integration into storylines of scripted and reality shows, while using everything from widgets to out-of-home campaigns to try to make an impression on bombarded consumers. The global problem of film piracy is an ongoing concern, taking a billion-dollar bite out of studios' pockets, while the cost to produce and market movies keeps climbing, on average $106.6 million per picture, according to the Motion Picture Association of America.

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