NEWSRyan, Oprah & Matt Top the Top Earners of TV
Aug. 11 2010, Published 10:14 a.m. ET
You may not be shocked by the names on TV's top earners list — Ryan Seacrest, Oprah Winfrey and Matt Lauer — but their respective salaries might surprise you!
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Salaries for TV stars are not as big as they used to be, TV Guide Magazine reports.
The salary for a lead has been $150,000 to $200,000 per episode in recent years, but for new fall series most deals were between $75,000 and $125,000.
"No one broke the bank on anything this year," one former studio head said.
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Since ad revenues were hit by the recession, DVR has become popular as well as watching shows online, and networks have been cutting costs.
But if the TV star's show is on the rise, then it's a completely different story!
Below are the top three earners (per episode) in each category!
Drama
Hugh Laurie (House) — $400,000+
Christopher Meloni & Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU) — $395,000 (each)
David Caruso (CSI: Miami) — $375,000
Late Night/Talk Syndication
Oprah Winfrey — $315 million
Judge Judy Sheindlin — $45 million
David Letterman (The Late Show) — $28 million
Reality
Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) — $15 million
Joel McHale (The Soup) — $2 million
Piers Morgan (America's Got Talent) — $2 million
Comedy
Charlie Sheen (Two and a Half Men) — $1.25 million
Jon Cryer (Two and a Half Men) — $550,000
Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives) — $400,000
News
Matt Lauer (Today) — $16 million +
Katie Couric (CBS) — $15 million
Brian Williams (NBC) — $12.5 million
Click HERE to see the complete list!
