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The money-printing machine known as American Idol is worth $2.5+ billion, and brings in about $500 million a year in advertising revenue. And the show's web site earned $13 million by itself. The show's producer, FremantleMedia, will soon earn even more money when it starts to "produce programs to be shown exclusively on YouTube and to split revenues with the video-sharing site," Reuters reports. While that deal doesn't seem to involve any American Idol-related content, the story does include an interesting fact: Fremantle executive Claire Tavernier "declined to estimate how much the deal might bring in over time but noted that the 'American Idol' website alone made $13 million last year," according to Reuters. That's somewhat remarkable considering that there are few ads (two, plus sponsor badges) and not much premium content (just a store and downloadable ring tones, which take you to AT&T's site). And it's not like they publish content people actually want to see."Idols" TV prod

Reality TV: Network orders hidden-camera series -- Continuing its push into original nonscripted skeins, TV Land has ordered a hidden-camera series, "Make My Day," from producer Michael Davies and Sony Pictures Television.

If you can take any more political television after nine months of non-stop campaign coverage, Frontline presents a documentary tonight about a legendary political operative who helped to define politics as we know it. Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story, which debuts at 9 p.m. ET tongiht, explores the life of Atwater, who PBS describes as "the charming, Machiavellian godfather of modern take-no-prisoners Republican political campaigns." He "mentored Karl Rove and George W. Bush, led the GOP to historic victories, and wrote the party's winning playbook." The hour-and-a-half long film was directed by Stefan Forbes, and follows Atwater's life in politics from South Carolina elections to the White House (he died in 1991). Journalist Howard Fineman says in a press release that "Atwater made himself a figure of demonology to psych out his opponents and anesthetize people to his tactics. And the sad part, some people would say, the justified part, was that the role that he made for himself l