The Basics
Ryan Seacrest: He may be short, but he's powerful.
Any analysis of E! Entertainment would not be complete without a look at Ryan Seacrest. The 35 year old Georgia-born media personality has become synonymous with E!. He has become such a public part of E! that there has even been public misconception that Seacrest owns E!. However, while he has his sights set on media ownership, Seacrest doesn’t own E!… yet.
You’re probably aware that Seacrest is a very prominent television figure. But, Seacrest’s media reach extends far beyond that of the average television host. He is on a self-realized path towards media domination. With interests in hosting, production, branding, and advertising, Seacrest is the poster-child for modern media diversification.
Seacrest with the classic American Idol crew: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson
Currently, Seacrest’s most prominent job is his role as the host of American Idol. However, Americans also constantly see Seacrest on the television screen for his other hosting duties, including: Dick Clarks’s New Years Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, Disney’s Christmas Eve Parade, The 60th Primetime Emmys, Super Bowl XLII and the red carper ceremonies for the Oscars, Grammys, Emmys, and Golden Globes.
Seacrest is the host of E! News, E! Entertainment Television’s premier entertainment news broadcast. His role at E! also extends beyond mere anchoring and hosting duties.
Seacrest is also a major radio personality. In 2004 he became the host of American Top 40, a national weekly radio countdown show. He also hosts and has an ownership stake in his daily KIIS FM radio show On Air with Ryan Seacrest.
Seacrest with Larry King at King's Birthday party
Currently, Seacrest fills on Larry King Live when King can’t host. King and Seacrest are also personal friends. Seacrest is also reported to have been in talks with CNN to take over Larry King’s job on CNN. King told the New York Times that Seacrest would replace him when his 10 year contract is up in 2011.
In addition to all of these hosting gigs, Seacrest is also the owner of his own production company, Ryan Seacrest Productions. RSP currently employs a staff of 30 people.
He also is an partner in eight restaurants, started his own clothing line, and has endorsements deals with crest, scope, and Bing.com. Seacrest’s brand is basically the equivalent of a 360 deal. (Or it is as close to a 360 deal as a master of ceremonies can get!)
Production = Eternal Life
Seacrest grew up idolizing Dick Clark and Merv Griffin. He saw that while Clark and Griffin were successful television personalities, the real key to their success came from their media diversification. Seacrest realized that the producer and owner have the real power, “I love being a presenter and a host, but I really want to build a company and acquire assets so there’s something you actually have at the end of the day, otherwise you’re only working for a fee.”
Ryan Seacrest Productions is a pretty successful production company in its own right. RSP was founded in 2008, and Seacrest appointed his agent Adam Sher as C.E.O. Some RSP productions include, Keeping Up With the Kardashians (E!), Bromance (MTV), Kourtney & Khloe Take Miami (E!), Bank of Hollywood (E!), Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution (ABC), and Denise Richards: It’s Complicated (E!). RSP has more shows in development with no end in sight.
You might have noticed that many of the shows listed above were produced for E!. That’s because Comcast (E!’s parent comany) signed Seacrest to a first-look contract. This means that Comcast has priority over anything RSP produces. In order for any other network to pick up an RSP production, Comcast has to pass on it first.
Seacrest’s original contract with E! was signed in 2006. In addition to his roles as anchor and managing editor of E! News and his hosting duties for E! Live from the Red Carpet (red carpet coverage for major award shows), Seacrest’s 2006 contract gave E! and The Style Network first-look rights to RSP’s content. In 2008 Comcast signed Seacrest to a three year $21 million deal that expanded this first-look deal to all of Comcast’s networks. (E!, The Style Network, G4, Versus, Golf Channel, Exercise TV, FEARnet, Comcast Sportsnet and PBS Kids Sprout)
Seacrest wants to carry the idea of diversification to the content of his programs. It’s the whole “don’t put your eggs in one basket,” concept. Currently RSP produces mainly “unscripted dramas,” (reality shows), but Seacrest’s latest show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution is a different story. It is a show that aims to improve the way Americans look at food. Chef Jamie Oliver examines American food and tries to highlight healthy options. Seacrest explains, “I want to produce content that’s socially conscious as well as pop candy entertainment. We don’t target one type of show . . . we try to come up with things that are popular.”
Seacrest and E!: So Much Consensual Love
Seacrest and Comcast have a symbiotic relationship. They are both are using each other to grow. In many articles about Seacrest, Comcast C.E.O. Ted Harbert is quoted ass-kissing his network’s favorite child, “Ryan is not only a spectacular broadcaster and producer but he is also the ideal ambassador for the E! brand.”
Seacrest in his radio studio interviewing Miley Cyrus
Harbert even had a private radio studio built at the E! headquarters for Seacrest so he doesn’t have to make the 40 minute commute from KIIS FM to E!. E! also has given Seacrest an entire wing at their headquarters to house RSP. With the crazy schedule Seacrest has, Harbert says that any convenience Seacrest can be afforded will help increase his productivity at E!. Two powerful media-forces united under the same roof make what Harbert calls “good synergy.”
Selling Seacrest
Part of what makes Seacrest so valuable to E! and valuable in general, is his brand. A behind-the-scenes media mogul doesn’t have all the opportunities that a household name does. Even though Seacrest realizes that ownership and production are the keys to longevity, he also realizes that celebrity is a key to ownership and production.
Seacrest has advertising partnerships with many major brand including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, and Procter & Gamble. His P&G deal with Crest toothpaste came about as a result of his celebrity. The American Idol audience has come to take note of Seacrest’s amazingly white teeth. Crest simply capitalized on Seacrest’s public image and turned his reputation into a sponsorship.
Seacrest’s deal with to promote Microsoft’s Bing search engine also makes sense. Seacrest has over 3 million twitter follows, and his radio show The American Top 40 attracts over 20 million listeners a week. Seacrest takes advantages of these numbers and his celebrity while winning over advertisers. As the owner of Ryan Seacrest Productions, Seacrest makes it a point to personally meet with potential advertising clients. He believes that is why he has been so successful securing advertisers. “If I’m producing a series with an integrated [marketing] message in it I’m the one meeting advertisers. I talk to the big guys [at these companies] on a regular basis about what’s working.”
Seacrest with some of his cash cows, the Kardashians
Seacrest also uses his rapport to negotiate contracts with celebrities. His production’s most successful show Keeping Up With the Kardashians came about because of his personal negotiations with the girls. “He wasn’t the first person to think of doing a show with the Kardashians,” Harbert says of Seacrest in an article in Details Magazine, “but he was able to sign them. There have been a handful of people in television history who could do that. You put him in a room with somebody, and he can sign them
How Much is Seacrest Really Worth?
Because Seacrest is constantly seeking better and more expansive deals, his financial value is inevitably bound to skyrocket. However, simply in terms of contracts, Seacrest is worth a pretty penny. In 2009 Fox signed Seacrest to a three year contract with American Idol worth $45 million. He gets $10 a year for hosting the show and $15 for image licensing rights. Idol also gives him a $300,00 expense account.
As I stated earlier, Seacrest is currently under a three year $21 million contract to Comcast for his duties at E!. His radio contract with Clear Channel for American Top 40 and On Air with Ryan Seacrest is $35 for three years.
Perhaps in a move to keep his cards hidden, Seacrest keeps the value of his production company a secret.
Conclusion
Seacrest with his Hollywood Star
The size of Seacrest’s annual salary and growth of his production company have his boss worried. Harbert says of Seacrest’s success, “I’d be lying if I said it made me happy.” Even though Comcast has a portion of Seacrest’s time under contract, Harbert knows it’s only temporary. Seacrest is under contract to three major media corporations, Comcast, Clear Channel, and Newscorp. However, as Harbert knows, Seacrest himself could soon be a major media force that cannot be controlled.
Seacrest is aware of what having a fully functional media empire would require. He is already considering his own distribution platform. “I would be interested at some point in owning a cable channel or a similar kind of pipe [for our content].” If Seacrest finds his distribution vehicle, this would be another step on his quest for media vertical integration.
A Seacrest media superpower wouldn’t be hard to imagine. The fact that he is personally beloved by stars such as the Kardashians is telling. He has met or interviewed basically every major star in Hollywood today. He could use his personal relationships with stars to sign them to a show produced by Ryan Seacrest Productions. In the future, he could then take that show and air it on his own network. Since Seacrest personally has a relationship with many major advertisers, it wouldn’t be difficult to sell ad time and find corporate sponsorships.
Seacrest has a solid formula for media domination. He’s smart enough to know that his popularity and looks won’t last forever. By the time his public fame fades, he aims to have actual ownership in the media.
Seacrest dropped out of college in order to directly pursue a career in the media. However, when he first started at the University of Georgia in 1993, he was a broadcast journalism major. He then switched his major to marketing/business. This academic switch could serve as foreshadowing to the rest of his career. The real power in the media lies in ownership, and 17 years ago as a young journalism student, Ryan Seacrest realized this.
Stellar Drip Drop 