For a growing number of people and businesses, Britney's saga is about money. Every time she sinks to new lows, cash flows. And these days, no one is above the fray.

Spears' father, James Spears, was put in charge of the troubled pop star's welfare Friday during a surprise court appearance by him and mother Lynne Spears, a day after their daughter was whisked to a hospital for a psychiatric evaluation.

During last week's emergency room saga, just as when Britney Spears was rushed to a hospital on Jan. 3, police officers and firefighters were pressed into duty. Television stations sent up helicopters, and cable news anchors reported the unfolding drama in real time. The Associated Press had two reporters working the story, with editors on both coasts updating it seven times throughout the night.

Spears is just one of many stars driving the growing multibillion-dollar celebrity news industry. But the Spears story in particular, with a new twist nearly every week, has become a very profitable sub-sector unto itself.

''Britney is the most bankable celebrity out there right now, and she has been for the past year,'' said Francois Navarre, founder of the paparazzi agency X17.

Spears became a can't-miss tabloid topic after filing for divorce from second husband Kevin Federline in November 2006. Since then, she's been in and out of rehab, shaved her head, revealed a bit too much above the hemline, was arrested after a traffic accident, and lost custody of her kids (and later her visitation rights).

''The product for the tabloid industry is the unusual, and Britney has been delivering that consistently,'' said Dan Smith, dean of the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University.

At a time when advertising spending in traditional media is declining, celebrity gossip titles such as Star, Us Weekly and In Touch Weekly are growing. That helped overall newsstand sales for magazines edge 1 percent higher in the first half of 2007. People magazine, which takes a broader and less sensational look at the entertainment industry, dominates the sector in circulation, but that hasn't stopped such new titles as In Touch and Life & Style Weekly from elbowing in. put Spears on nearly two-thirds of its covers last year, including each of the last 14. And that heightened demand for Spears pictures has been a boon to photographers.

X17's Navarre said an exclusive shot of the star would sell for about $10,000 in the U.S. and generate thousands more in residuals.