Love Island Cost £12 Million To Produce

Love Island cost ITV £12 million to produce, with industry insiders telling the trade press that expense of its location, hotels and associated fees bumped up the price.

The programme, which consistently struggled to pull in viewers (see Strong Night For BBC One As Love Island Continues To Struggle), is said to have cost twice as much as its rival, Channel 4’s Big Brother, which had a far better summer on the ratings front (see NewsLine).

The relatively cheap Hertfordshire location of Big Brother and a modest number of crew and staff for the latest series of the Reality behemoth cost around £6 million.

However, one head of TV at a media buying agency told the Guardian that investment in Love Island was necessary to help boost the programming schedule over the difficult summer period.

A second TV director added that the usually later start time of 10pm for the ITV show also skewed a direct comparison with Big Brother, which was often shown at 9pm.

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