Cult hit Lost sees last
seasons over horizon

With TV production costs rising annually, studios are having trouble keeping apace, reports The Financial Times.

A typical one-hour drama cost $1 million in the early '90s. Today, one will set studios back $2.7 million.

Studios must make programming as compelling as possible to retain the attention of 18-34 year-olds with a host of entertainment options, such online video, video games and cable networks with better content, like HBO.

Another issue is regulation. In the mid-'90s, the FCC repealed longstanding laws that prevented networks from owning and producing their own programming. With the regulation lifted, networks try to keep everything under one roof.

And TV's biggest source of revenue, advertising, is losing luster as audiences diversify and viewers "TiVo" ads. To combat this, some networks are creating sub-labels to build more creative work on smaller budgets.