Columbia Pictures
The 1994 film was only broadcast less than "Mrs. Doubtfire."
Have you ever been flipping through the channels and noticed that some movies are always on?
Chances are that one of those movies was "$4."
According to the $4, the research firm $4 projected that the 1994 prison drama accounted for 151 hours of basic cable air time in 2013.
At 151 hours, the film based on the $4 is tied with "Scarface" and was only behind "Mrs. Doubtfire."
If that wasn't enough, character Andy Dufresne's rain soaked escape scene has been broadcasted on 15 different basic cable networks since 1997.
And it's all because the movie is really, really watchable.
"'Shawshank' was becoming that priceless entertainment property-a repeater," writes WSJ's Russell Adams. "Viewers watched it again and again."
Warner Bros. wouldn't say how much it makes from licensing "Shawshank" to TV, but according to former and current studio executives speaking with the WSJ, it's one of the highest valued feature films in Warner Bros' $1.5 billion library.