Getting rid of certain FCC must-carry protections for TV broadcasters...
Getting rid of certain FCC must-carry protections for TV broadcasters could put some stations out of business, an economic analysis of the rules by BIA/Kelsey for the NAB said. Some 22 percent of cable households still only receive analog cable…
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service, the analysis said. “While that is not the majority of households receiving cable service, it is still a significant amount representing approximately 11 percent of all U.S. TV households,” it said (http://xrl.us/bm4yre). “Removing that percentage of a station’s audience could well have a profound impact on affected stations.” Smaller audiences means lower advertising revenue and slightly lower costs due to fewer sales commissions to pay, it said. For a must-carry CW affiliate in markets 51-75, that could mean a drop of $323,644 in revenue, a drop that could take a profitable station into the red ink, it said. MyNetworkTV affiliates could also suffer if the rule were changed, with the average must-carry MyNetworkTV affiliate in smaller markets prone to see its profit halved, it said. “Without full access to their local audiences, television stations would be at a severe disadvantage in competing for those advertising revenues,” it said. “Many stations may find it difficult to remain profitable and their service to the public would decrease."