BIA recently released an analysis of retransmission consent fees and local stations. For years, local stations have been able to obtain payments from cable and satellite operators for carrying these local TV stations on their services. Retransmission consent fees have become an important part of a local station’s “bottom line.” BIA noted that there are a number of factors affecting future retransmission payments.
Audience ratings
Television households
Cable penetration rates
Fees local stations are receiving from cable and satellite delivery systems
Fees local stations are paying parent networks for their share of these revenues
Amounts received by non-top four affiliates (CW, MY, and Univision).
BIA observed that the economics of retransmission consent are changing. Cord cutting, OTT, and streaming services are altering the traditional retransmission consent market. Looking at the next few years BIA predicts:
“BIA’s latest forecast for local TV station vMVPD/MVPD distribution revenue shows growth from 2023 but an overall flattening in the 2024-2028 period. Of the total amount of distribution revenue in the 2020-2028 period, the Top 25 TV Markets account for over half of the local TV station revenue from multichannel video providers. The Top 10 markets generate 29.9 percent of the total and Markets 11-25 get 21.6 percent.”
There is no doubt that the marketplace is changing. Retransmission fees have become essential in helping to fund local journalism. The question is how local stations will respond to this new challenge.
You can access BIA’s analysis here.