Nomura Equity Research says don't blame the cable companies, however. The research firm says program suppliers have increased their fees by 8.2 percent over the last year, alone, and those kind of increases are expected every year going forward.
Of the major media companies, Disney accounts for the largest chunk of fees, taking a massive 24 percent. ESPN, its most profitable venture, accounts for a good portion of its substantial fees, with ESPN bringing in an average of $4.69 from every U.S. cable subscriber.
Time Warner (distributor of HBO, TNT, TBS and CNN), controls 21 percent of the fees, followed by Comcast (Bravo, USA Network) at 16 percent and News Corp. (Fox) at 14 percent.
Furthermore, the analyst firm says "re-transmission fees paid to broadcast network affiliate stations totaled nearly $400 million in 2011 and should reach $750 million this year."
Written by: Andre Yoskowitz @ 12 Apr 2012 11:27
