ABC, CBS Getting Reverse Compensation from Belo

Belo is paying ABC and CBS reverse compensation, but isn't saying how much. On a conference call with securities analyst, CEO Dunia Shive said that the publicly traded station group had concluded an affiliation renewal agreement with ABC, effective Jan. 1, 2010, that calls for Belo to pay the network for its programming. Belo has four ABC affiliates. Shive also said that three of Belo’s five CBS affiliates had also agreed to renewals, in which Belo is paying the network. Those deals took effect Feb. 1. However, Shive declined to say how much the company is paying either network, noting that the payments are buried in a programming expense line on the earnings report.