NBCUniversal Cashes in on Reality TV With BravoCon’s Las Vegas Debut

Visitors to the bathrooms at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas this weekend will be greeted with mirrors decorated with classic “Real Housewives” quotes, and stalls featuring trivia questions inspired by the intricate universe of Bravo’s reality TV programming — along with product samples and coupons presented by Clorox, one of almost two dozen sponsors of the network’s annual BravoCon fan extravaganza.

“We have every square inch of this thing sponsored,” Sari Feinberg, NBCUniversal’s SVP of marketing, content partnerships and advertising told TheWrap ahead of the three-day event, which is expected to host 25,000+ people beginning Friday.

BravoCon’s debut in Las Vegas this year, after two years in New York City, follows in the footsteps of Star Wars Celebration and Comic-Con, fan conventions that have monetized male-skewing shows for years. Bravo, the cable network, has found a massive live event revenue stream for a heavily female demographic that may be as big as the network’s earnings for shows like “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” “Vanderpump Rules” and “Below Deck.”

Bravo declined to discuss how much revenue the network expects to make from BravoCon. TheWrap estimates the company will pull in at least $13.75 million from ticket sales alone, based on the $550 general admission ticket for the three-day event. VIP tickets start at $1,200, one-day GA and VIP passes are $250 and $475, respectively; and Bravo is also offering tickets for add-on events like “Bravopalooza” (a cocktail mixer with talent, affectionately called Bravolebrities), “BravoCon After Dark” at Omnia nightclub and five sold-out tapings of “BravoCon LIVE With Andy Cohen!” at the 1,400-seat Paris Theater.

The “Bravocon LIVE” shows, with tickets ranging from $200-400, would yield another $2.1 million to the BravoCon revenue haul, TheWrap estimates. And the estimates don’t include revenue from merchandise sales or from partnerships with the 20 sponsors for BravoCon 2023.

TheWrap’s estimates suggest that BravoCon could provide gross revenues totaling a third or even half of the cable network’s annual revenue, which data analytical companies peg at about $45 million. (NBCUniversal did not comment on Bravo’s revenues, and Bravo would not discuss the cost of organizing and operating BravoCon, or how the cost is divided between the company and its partners.)

BravoCon 2023 will showcase immersive activations featuring the cable network’s biggest stars — including “Real Housewives” Lisa Barlow (Wendy’s) and Garcelle Beauvais (Wayfair), and “Vanderpump Rules” standout Ariana Madix (in partnership with Lay’s, a presenting sponsor).

As the event gathers fans from all over the world to celebrate Bravo’s programming, its scope, headline-making moments and elaborate marketplace are a testament to the brand’s growing influence and the need for cable television networks to find new revenue streams.

While the weekend could yield a healthy chunk of change for NBCUniversal, Bravo’s parent company, the participating talent’s cut will be far more modest. Some may not even break even.

A BravoCon insider confirmed all Bravolebrities at the event this year receive a talent appearance fee and travel, accommodations and styling. However, one person familiar with talent management at the 2022 event described the fee as “nominal.”

For the talent, BravoCon is a chance to engage with some of their super fans while marketing their own businesses.

“All of this is centered around giving fans the experience of a lifetime,” Feinberg told TheWrap. “As we were building out all of the experiences on the ground this year, we looked at real fan feedback from last year and did everything we could to elevate and build on those pieces of feedback that we received.”

From rags to cable riches

Bravo is the crown jewel among NBCU’s cable properties. But it wasn’t always so. Prior to 2003, it was seen as the home of niche performing arts programming. Then the network struck ratings gold with “Queer Eye For the Straight Guy,” a makeover show featuring five lifestyle experts across beauty, fashion, food, design and pop culture. Executives developed a slate around those five pillars, resulting in “Blow Out,” “Project Runway,” “Top Chef,” “Flipping Out” and “The Real Housewives.”

The latter kicked off in 2006 with “The Real Housewives of Orange County.” The premise was simple: a docuseries following the personal and professional lives of affluent women. The show spun off to New York, then Atlanta and the rest is reality history. Bravo’s current slate is dominated by its nine rotating “Real Housewives” franchises, two of which (“Miami” and “Potomac”) return for new seasons on BravoCon week.

Bravo programming continues to spur cable viewership and generate tabloid news on a daily basis. NBCUniversal touts Bravo as a Top 5 cable network in prime time across female viewers in the 18-49 and 25-54 demos, in data presented to potential advertisers.

The “Scandoval” cheating scandal involving Madix and “Vanderpump Rules” costars Tom Sandoval and Rachel Leviss became the biggest entertainment story of the spring. The drama played out on the show’s 10th season, which wrapped up its run in early June as the most-watched cable series of 2023 among adults 18-49. Madix and Sandoval are set to reunite on stage at BravoCon for a panel on the series.

Bravo has also benefited from a symbiotic relationship with Peacock, NBCUniversal’s streaming platform. Peacock serves as the streaming home for all Bravo series the day after premiering on cable, and also debuted spin-offs like the crossover series “Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip,” Seasons 4 and 5 of the “Real Housewives of Miami” — which aired later on Bravo — and uncensored versions of reunion specials.

Bravo content viewership on Peacock has doubled year over year in terms of hours watched, according to data provided by the streamer. Almost every Bravo series that has launched in 2023 has seen cross-platform growth compared to previous seasons. In the case of “Vanderpump Rules,” Peacock’s airing of an extended, uncensored version of the reunion specials made it the most-watched NBCU Entertainment episode on Peacock since the streamer’s launch in 2020.

Peacock is set to present exclusive content throughout the event’s run, as well as streaming episodes of “Watch What Happens Live” that will be filmed from the convention hall and air on Bravo starting Sunday.

The Bravo Bazaar comes with a price

In addition to the panels, the 550,000 square-foot Caesars Forum, which opened in 2020, will also house partner activations and experiences. The corporate partners — which are largely aligned to the five aforementioned pillars — include presenting sponsors State Farm and Lay’s (food), as well as Wendy’s (food), Wayfair (design), Juvederm (beauty) and more.

Parent company NBCU arranges the experiences by partnering Bravo talent as brand ambassadors. For example, Lays is creating a custom chip flavor that will be featured at a pop-up of Something About Her, the highly anticipated sandwich shop owned by “Vanderpump Rules” stars Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney. Such deals can be lucrative. (NBCU did not disclose specific details about the sponsorship deals.)

There’s also the Bravo Bazaar, a marketplace for emerging and talent-owned businesses. It’s the place where Bravolebrities can promote their businesses, which range from merchandise to spirits.

You don’t have to be a long-established Bravo star to participate. Erin Lichy, who just wrapped her first season on “The Real Housewives of New York,” will be debuting her Mezcalum mezcal line at BravoCon. Lichy and castmate Brynn Whitfield will also pair with a DoorDash activation that is a nod to a cheese-related scandal (yes, they exist) from “RHONY.”

“My team has been so busy getting that booth together,” Sutton Stracke, “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star and boutique owner, told TheWrap. “We have some really fun things that we’re bringing and I love showing it all to the fans because a lot of people can’t come to LA and haven’t seen my store. So bringing that is really fun.”

Yet while the Bravolebrities benefit from presenting their products directly to their TV shows’ fanbase, they still have to pony up to their corporate bosses.

A BravoCon insider says that NBCU does not charge a fee for talent brands to obtain a booth at the Bravo Bazaar, but NBCU does receive a “nominal commission” from products sold by brand partners and talent.

An individual close to talent management at BravoCon said the commission is 15%. In addition, talent must provide materials and staffing for their booths.

“Even the women that have a lot of money say ‘you go to BravoCon, you lose money on BravoCon,’” said the individual. “You’re making some money back, but if you’re bringing in people to help run those booths you’re probably breaking even. But you just know the fans want something from you, and these are all the people who would be buying your merch, your products. So why not bring it to a place for them to have that access?”

It’s not all about the check

The event also brings intangible value to the network, as well as to its stars.

At BravoCon 2022, Andy Cohen introduced the cast of the rebooted “Real Housewives of New York City” for the first time. After the reveal, fans rushed online to research the new housewives and follow them on social media. The new cast would not make their TV debut until nine months later, but by the time Season 14 premiered in July 2023 there was already plenty of buzz — which all originated from BravoCon.

The event itself has become a storyline on Bravo shows. During one BravoCon panel in 2022, “RHOBH” star Erika Jayne was asked which celebrity couple was “headed to Splitsville next,” to which she answered “Dorit and PK.” Suffice to say, her castmate Dorit Kemsley was hurt by Jayne’s BravoCon comments, and confronted her about them in the Season 13 opener that just aired last week.

There’s now an expectation that anything filmed at BravoCon is fair game for the shows. “It’s the nature of it,” Kemsley told TheWrap. “We film these things and then they’re on the air months after you’re [done] filming. So you’re always living it more than once anyway.”

Tibits from BravoCon may be turned into GIFs or memes, which then populate social media and raise awareness for the network’s brand and its partners.

Last year, NBCUniversal saw that brands that leveraged Bravo talent at BravoCon had about 80% higher on-site recall, Feinberg told TheWrap.

Bravo fans will spend the weekend playing trivia on the convention center’s bathroom walls, eating and drinking specialty offers and watching the drama unfold live — or on Peacock from home. But it will be Bravo and NBCUniversal that get the real Vegas payout.

The post NBCUniversal Cashes in on Reality TV With BravoCon’s Las Vegas Debut appeared first on TheWrap.