[DTV]

I mean, does news cost a million plus per episode? That's probably a stupid question, it probably does. I should just shut up

Per hour, news is actually cheap. According to the 2006/07 Annual Report (page 72 of the Executive Report), BBC News 24 cost £5,400 per hour to produce, with network news costing £25,900 per hour (current affairs is at a pricier £100,200 per hour). Obviously the prices will have inflated a bit over time, but it is still low compared to other genres. The problem, though, is that it is on all day, every day and you can't repeat it - so the prices do add up. 

It's also important to remember that a lot of the costs aren't necessarily involved in actually directly producing the programme (i.e., studios, presenters, etc.) but rather in newsgathering - lots of correspondents and support staff again add up. Guest contributor appearance fees are also a big chunk - I believe it's roughly £100 for a standard 3-minute interview, but how many of those are on air per hour, every day?

Ultimately, when you count up network bulletins, current affairs, news channels, local news, radio news, online, World Service, it's a lot!