Projections Show Retrans Fees Increasing to $1.2B by 2011

According to projections from SNL Kagan, retransmission consent fees are expected to increase to $1.2 billion by 2011. That would be more than double the $500 million for 2008, and up strongly from 2009's $739 million in retrans revenue. Kagan says that cable companies may also begin paying more than satellite operators in retrans fees starting next year. Not surprisingly, the majority of 2009 retrans fees (62%) came from the top 25 markets.According to Kagan analyst Justin Nelson, the 2009 breakdown for retrans fees is $352 million from DBS and $315 million from cable, with telcos' share estimated at $71 million.