Spending money on prime-time dramas and comedies helps sister divisions such as TV production studios, which will own the rights to shows in perpetuity and can sell them in other countries, to other channels and on home video. Mega-hits like "CSI" or "Lost" can be sold around the world and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing fees for reruns. A failed show might have cost $1 million-plus per episode to produce, but much of that cost is covered by advertising revenue.