Archive sale makes Judge Judy highest-paid host
Judy Sheindlin, better known around the world as Judge Judy, presides over her courtroom and the rest of television as 2018’s highest paid TV host, according to Forbes.
The Judge Judy host, who holds the Guinness World Record for the longest career as a TV judge, ranked No. 1 for the first time after selling the rights to her show’s extensive library for an estimated $100 million last year.
Pair that with the $47 million she makes a year hosting Judge Judy and producing Hot Bench, and Sheindlin is among the richest self-made women in the U.S., let alone TV host.
At No. 2 is Ellen DeGeneres. The 60-year-old comedian raked in $87.5 million pretax during her “most lucrative year yet,” according to the magazine.
In addition to an eight-figure paycheque for her namesake show, DeGeneres earned $20 million for an upcoming Netflix stand-up special, becoming the first female comic to receive a payday that large from the streaming service.
Forbes looked at earnings estimated from June 1, 2017, through June 1, 2018.
Dr. Phil McGraw of Dr. Phil was third with $77.5 million, Ryan Seacrest of Live With Kelly and Ryan and American Idol fourth with $74 million and Steve Harvey of Family Feud, Steve, Miss Universe and Little Big Shots fifth at $44 million
Dropping out of the top five this year: America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell.
Netflix says that it will bring animated series and specials based on the work of acclaimed children’s author Roald Dahl to its library, including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Matilda and The BFG.
The streaming-video giant said it will “remain faithful to the quintessential spirit and tone of Dahl while also building out an imaginative story universe that expands far beyond the pages of the books themselves.”
Streaming companies are investing in adding original animated series as they aim to cater to families and children. Netflix is expected to spend $1.1 billion — or 11 per cent of its original-content budget — on animation this year, according to estimates by venture capital firm Loup Ventures.
Titles included in Netflix’s agreement with the Roald Dahl Story Co. also include The Twits, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator, George’s Marvellous Medicine, Boy — Tales of Childhood, Going Solo, The Enormous Crocodile, The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me, Henry Sugar and Rhyme Stew.
Terms of the deal were not announced.
Adaptations of Dahl’s books have had a mixed track record in Hollywood. Some movies, such as Disney’s 2005 Charlie and Chocolate Factory, were hits, generating $475 million in worldwide ticket sales, while Stephen Spielberg’s 2016 version of The BFG was a flop.
Production on the first animated series for Netflix is to begin next year.
“We have great creative ambition to reimagine the journeys of so many treasured Dahl characters in fresh, contemporary ways with the highest quality animation and production values,” Melissa Cobb, vice-president of kids and family content at Netflix, said in a statement.
The Roald Dahl Story Co. chose Netflix for a reason, Gideon Simeloff, the Dahl company’s strategy director, said in a statement: “There is no other place in the world that can deliver animated entertainment for the whole family at such quality and scale.”