Cable's New Business Model: Lower Ratings, Higher Revenue

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What's going on in the cable TV business? Reasons for fear are many: A glut of similar reality programming is fragmenting audiences; several popular cable shows are ending amid a lack of new hits; too many new channels and online video outlets offer original programming; and consolidation among providers -- Comcast buying Time Warner Cable and AT&T scooping up DirecTV -- will give these mega-entities more leverage in future fee negotiations. So far, though, those reasons for pessimism have been no match for rising subscriber fees and cost-per-thousand rates, and many analysts say the upfronts were an anomaly and ad revenue is headed higher. Plus, in many cases, foreign expansion is more than making up for sluggishness at home.


Cable's New Business Model: Lower Ratings, Higher Revenue