U.S. Broadcast Retrans Fees Could Reach $3.61 billion in 2017

MONTEREY: Steady increases in the monthly fees paid by pay-TV platforms to TV stations could drive overall U.S. broadcast retransmission fees to $3.61 billion in 2017 from $1.14 billion in 2010, reports SNL Kagan.

SNL Kagan notes that retrans revenues disclosed by public companies rose from $631 million in 2009 to $766 million in 2010. For pure-play TV station owners analyzed by SNL Kagan, the revenue stream was equal to 52 percent of their cash flow on average in 2010, rising to as much as 76 percent of cash flow.

Retrans fees have been a contentious issue in the U.S., leading to a number of spats between broadcast network station groups and pay-TV platforms. Network owned-and-operated stations have taken issue with the fact that the fees they receive are often considerably lower than those received by cable networks.

Broadcast retrans revenues are expected to increase 28 percent this year to $1.46 billion, SNL Kagan predicts.