The studio, which retained ownership of the show, would then make a profit, often a big one, by selling the rerun rights to local stations.
The studios gamble on being able to cover those deficits through the syndicated sale of rerun rights.
Meanwhile, though, it has sold rerun rights to cable television.
In television, a production company does not recover its investment until the rerun rights are sold.
After a series has been on that long, producers hope to sell the rerun rights to local television stations to recoup their investment.
Those stations have been bidding for the rerun rights to a diminishing number of successful network shows.
The rules prohibit the networks from acquiring rerun rights to prime-time programs they broadcast.
The original rule barred the networks from owning the rerun rights to virtually any shows they broadcast.
The 1992 figures included the sale of rerun rights to the hit "Married With Children."
The television networks were allowed to own the rerun rights to their prime-time shows.
