Looks like Discovery is starting to wake up to the reality of their decision to dance with Sarah Palin.

Last week, the network held its annual sales conference for ad buyers for all of its 13 networks. When the moment arrived to show off Sarah Palin’s Alaska, things got messy. From the Huffington Post:

Our source says “the whole thing [was] comical.” Apparently the ad buyers were not impressed. This Discovery insider said, “When the promo was over, people (employees and buyers) were rolling their eyes, snickering, and even laughing. People were laughing and it’s not even a comedy. No one took it seriously.” This person was concerned that given the lack of interest from ad buyers that Discovery would have to dump the show to “a crappy time slot” to cut its losses. They added, “Bottom line everyone thought it was a new all time low for Discovery. My guess is the show is going to tank big time.”

Cenk Uygur, who hosts The Young Turks, went on to reveal that Palin is getting paid some $250,000 per episode. Add in production costs, and TLC is expected to shell out some $800,000 to $1.2 million per episode for the whole production. That would make it the most expensive show on the network.

And, potentially, one of the biggest flops ever for Discovery.

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About Michael dEstries

Michael has been blogging since 2005 on issues such as sustainability, renewable energy, philanthropy, and healthy living. He regularly contributes to a slew of publications, as well as consulting with companies looking to make an impact using the web and social media. He lives in Ithaca, NY with his family on an apple farm.

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