Salary. Cable has a tendency to try and reduce budgets as a show ages. It was a big reason why the last season of Mad Men took so long to get made; AMC was trying to cut the overall budget of the show by reducing cast and cast salaries.

I thought I read the cast gets $20k per episode.

Ads are running, announcing new episodes starting Dec. 4.

I bet it's because a lot of folks who actually buy these storage lockers for a living are getting sick of being out-bid and out-priced on their lively-hood due to the popularity of the show. These storage locker auctions are insane everywhere now with folks trying to jump on the bandwagon in hopes of finding the type of treasures they are on the show - only finding out what is mostly in these lockers are old dirty clothes, furniture and toys. Word is getting around. I've read about it on storage locker business message boards.

Care to share links to those storage locker business boards?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I doubt these guys get $20k an episode. There are actors on highly rated shows who don't make that much money.

Here's one I look at from time to time. You'll have to click thru the pages to find the auction ones:

http://www.selfstoragetalk.com/general-storage-chat/

The show is one of the highest rated shows on basic cable. A&E reruns the living crap out of each episode. Sometimes it seems like all they run is Storage Wars. I don't think spending $120K on talent an episode is exaggerated.

It doesn't matter what the ratings are or how many times they play the episodes. Initial contracts for television usually lock up an actor/talent for 5-7 years at cheaper prices. Now I know that could be slightly different in the realm of reality television, but I doubt it is that dissimilar to regular tv actor contracts. If the show's a hit, they usually renegotiate later on. I don't doubt that a renegotiation happened at some point, but I still doubt they are getting $20k an episode. Reality actors are notoriously underpaid in relation to what real actors make. Nobody knows for sure but them, but all signs point to less than that when you look at other reality shows and their pay scales.

Look at the Honey Boo Boo crap. The entire family was making less than $7k an episode. Once the show became a hit, they renegotiated for a larger payout for the family, but if you break it up, they are making less $3k per person per episode.

Here's an article that says they make $10k an episode: http://www.celebitchy.com/203742/sto..._getting_paid/

Well well, Jarrod's past has come up.

http://starcasm.net/archives/181489

So far the rumors keep proving true. Guess it's a matter of time before someone produces pics of Brandi from her stripper days.

I don't think anyone doubted that Jarrod had a few run-ins with the law in his past.

I would disagree with this. I had heard they were getting paid $10K a piece initially and renegotiated after the show blew up. At this point, I'm sure the people representing the cast certainly brought up ratings and rerun value.

www.starcasm.net

Wow.

There's a marathon running, again. Just saw an advert for SW: NYC. Yep, they are hamming it up worse than Barry in just the previews.

I just caught an episode where Mary turns an old CRT TV into a fish tank, and the fish promptly died after she put them in. As a fish keeper for many years, I was disgusted. The dumbass probably left something toxic from the electronics in there if fish die within minutes of entering a tank. Her reaction? Better sell it fast. I don't let the staging/scripting bother me, but that got under my skin.

New episodes for the original start Dec. 4, for those who haven't seen the ads.

I think I'm done with the "Storage" shows.

Hester is gone.

http://www.radaronline.com/exclusive...r-new-episodes

The most interesting war on the hit show Storage Wars is not between the contestants bidding for lockers, it's the one pitting the show against its best-known star.

Execs at A&E have locked out Dave Hester, blocking him from filming several shows for the new season as tensions mounted between the two sides, RadarOnline.com is reporting exclusively.

And while Hester will be seen on the Season Four premiere December 4, that episode was taped before the reality show locked him out.

"They did not let Dave film the first several shows," a source with knowledge of the situation told RadarOnline.com exclusively.

As Radar previously reported, Hester was sent a contract option for the new season and then it was rescinded. That controversy has played out amid charges the show is fake, with valuable and interesting items placed in lockers for the cast to "discover!"

The situation with Hester grew worse after our first exclusive story.

"The network and production company has the power," our source added. "The rest of the cast is working without having their contract issues fully worked out.

"And Hester simply was not allowed to tape. He had no offer."

Hester is arguably the show’s biggest star and its most polarizing. Fans love and hate him, with his signature "Yuuup!" during bidding the most recognizable catch phrase on Storage Wars. He is a foil and irritant for the other bidders, including Darrell Sheets, Jarrod Schulz, Brandi Passante and Barry Weiss as married auctioneers Dan and Laura Dotson pace the action.

Ratings have slipped for the show and the network no longer views Storage Wars as its top priority, one insider told Radar.

"It's tough to fight the network," the source said. "Executives with the show have even warned people who work there not to talk about what is going on, after Radar's last story came out."

A&E has several shows in the can with Hester and viewers will see those first. But as taping rolled in November, Hester was locked out and considering his options.

"I think he wants back on the show," one person told Radar. "But the network played hardball with him."

As cast members try to negotiate better deals and reimbursement for certain expenses they've simply been told no.

"Inside the network the feeling is 'we're going to tape this show with or without you,'" a source told Radar.

And in the case of Hester, it has been without.

A&E did not respond to Radar's request for comment.

What an idiot. I can't wait to hear when he's bankrupt and on the streets.

$10,000 may not seem like much scratch per episode, but that's $720,000 for the first three seasons of the show. That's a lot of scratch to walk away from.

plus the untold amount of free promotion for your business.

SO really the show is not as spontaneous(real) as they claim if they are locking out certain people to the auctions. The auctions are closed sets. Big surprise.

I don't think they mean locked out as not allowing them in. I think they are meaning locked out as in they won't show him on camera at the auctions.

Good. I couldn't stand him. Altho they'll find another a-hole to replace him to keep the pace of the show going.

Some interesting new finds tonight.

Oh damn, so much for Jeff Jarrod after that blowup. I've never seen Dan and Laura go in on someone like that.

The new guy is interesting. Let's see how his personality develops.

He could still bid, run the prices up and yell "yep" without "shown" being on camera. If they really are public auctions, they could not keep him away from them.

With the way Dan yelled at Laura when she butted in, I doubt he got any that night...