Watching the parade today I’m curious who pays for what? How much does NBC pay to run it, who’s paying for the celebrity placement, singing stars, coordination of talent, balloon holders, etc.? How would a company get their “star” to be a part of it? Does Macy’s underwrite everything and charge for participation? It seems like an extremely complex enterprise for a three hour show that makes a mess of traffic in downtown Manhattan and involves what seems like a couple of thousand people. Interested in understanding how/why it happens.
Frommerman: It’s all about the advertising. Every organization involved pays for their spot, and once the parade started being televised the price of those spots only increased. Each organization pays for whoever is involved in their display and organizes their own things themselves.
kirbyfox312: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/thanksgiving-day-parade-float-costs/
Macy’s organizes it with about 4000 employees, but it involves about 10k. Each spot in the parade costs money. $190k for a new balloon, $90k for a returning balloon. Floats can cost $780k to $2.6 million, paid for by the people wanting it in. I believe the only ones who don’t pay to get in are marching bands- they only allow 12 each year though.
Krispytreat35: https://youtu.be/uUJofDgVUnM
This video might not go into the detail that you want it to, but it was posted yesterday and is still pretty informative!!
It’s better with the lights off