How Reality Television Shows Earn Massive Profits

6. Syndication and Second-Run Licensing

Once a reality show has aired its initial run on a primary network, the episodes become valuable assets for syndication. This involves selling the rights to rerun the seasons on secondary cable channels, local broadcast affiliates, or even international networks that couldn't afford the first-run license. Because reality shows are often viewed as "evergreen" content that doesn't rely on complex, time-sensitive plotlines, they can be aired repeatedly for years, providing a continuous, reliable, long-tail revenue stream with zero further production cost.