Indeed, and the fact that the national publicity is the real value/deal-lubricator is why the show itself gets an equity or royalty stake in every company which appears:
"why the show itself gets an equity or royalty stake"
By the way, originally that was not the case it changed at some point. But that's a good thing as it motivates them to a) show follow ups "how are they doing?" (which cause a bump in sales) b) include the company in re-runs (which causes a bump in sales as well (I've correlated it).
Thats truly fascinating, makes one wonder if other networks will jump into the act once ABC has their first home run.
What worries me though is its only a matter of time until someone figures out they can do this with a startup reality show. If you think the prospect of a silicon valley reality show is bad now (glorifying the supposed "startup lifestyle", launch parties, founder drama, etc.) just wait until the network has a significant stake in the startups that they are promoting...
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=3946008