Smaller, more indie TV stations on cable.

[tall_guy1]

How do they get carried or have the funds to run a station? I understand the ones connected to a major organization (like Paramount/Viacom, WBD/Time Warner, NBCU, Disney, Fox.) But what about the others? I am referring to AMC Networks (surprisingly they had some big hits a while back, but they aren't as big as some others; I subscribe to AMC+, bit few around me do,) AXS, Fuse, WGN America (now Newsnation), and further down Comedy.TV, and the list goes on. It seems like the Turner stations were able to acquire shows due to being connected to Time Warner. But other stations aren't connected to a major company like that.

 

[Kelly A]

Step one: Find a full power independent DTV station in a market for sale.
Buy the station.
Go to the NATPE conference and negotiate buying shows available in your market from syndicator's attending shows.

 

[inari]

How do they get carried or have the funds to run a station?

Many of those small cable channels collect a few cents per month from the cable companies. Even if they charge 3 cents per month per household and are in 25,000,000 households that's $9 million/year. Then they just have to keep their cost below that number. Cable companies like it because they can pad their channel lineup for very little cost.

With $9 million per year you could get the rights to half a dozen to a dozen shows and fill up a schedule pretty easily. Then you make money from sell spots and per inquiry ads.

 

[Kelly A]

Many of those small cable channels collect a few cents per month from the cable companies. Even if they charge 3 cents per month per household and are in 25,000,000 households that's $9 million/year. Then they just have to keep their cost below that number. Cable companies like it because they can pad their channel lineup for very little cost.

Cable retrans fees are based on the market size and subs.

With $9 million per year you could get the rights to half a dozen to a dozen shows and fill up a schedule pretty easily. Then you make money from sell spots and per inquiry ads.

I can't think of mid to small market TV station with local cable carriage that's making $9M per year purely from retrans fees.
More like $200K down hill with a tail wind.

 

[PTBoardOp93]

I can't think of mid to small market TV station with local cable carriage that's making $9M per year purely from retrans fees.
More like $200K down hill with a tail wind.

Looks to me that Tall-guy is asking about national cable networks like Hallmark and AMC, not broadcast retrans.

 

[EricStein]

Step one: Find a full power independent DTV station in a market for sale.
Buy the station.
Go to the NATPE conference and negotiate buying shows available in your market from syndicator's attending shows.

I don't think NATPE exists anymore (at least, in its heyday form).

 

[Kelly A]

I don't think NATPE exists anymore (at least, in its heyday form).

February:

Home - NATPE Global

NATPE Global

global.natpe.com

 

[inari]

Cable retrans fees are based on the market size and subs.

I can't think of mid to small market TV station with local cable carriage that's making $9M per year purely from retrans fees.
More like $200K down hill with a tail wind.

I wasn't talking about a local television station and I don't believe tall_guy1 was either.

 

[Kelly A]

I wasn't talking about a local television station and I don't believe tall_guy1 was either.

Tall_Guy's opening sentence: "How do they get carried or have the funds to run a station?"
Maybe he meant a cable channel or a cable system, but that's not what he asked.