CBS Fills Void with Retrans Money
/People are cutting the cord at the fastest rate ever as they watch their cable and satellite bills go up and up.
Networks and station groups don’t seem to care about the future and only care about making money right now.
CBS came out with their earnings report and while they say that advertising is down, they still made money through retransmission fees and reverse compensation.
CBS says that retrans and reverse comp revenues grew 25% from a year earlier.
There was a time when networks paid affiliates to be affiliates. Now, the networks make the affiliates pay them.
They also take a portion of stations retransmission fees from the cable and satellite providers. So, stations demand more money from the providers and that is what makes your cable bill go higher to the pint that viewers just don’t think it is worth it anymore.
FTVLive cut the cable cord years ago and while we have tried one of the streaming services “skinny bundles” from time to time, for the past 5 years or so, we have basically gone without TV.
Between YouTube and Amazon Prime, we find more than enough to watch during the few times we watch TV.
Stations gouging cable providers for more and more money is what will put and end to commercial television.
The people that run these TV groups know that, but they also know it will happen after they are gone, and it will not be their problem to deal with.
TV is going down the same path as newspapers and just like newspapers, they are going to stick their head in the sand until it’s too late.