Stations Demand Retrans Cash

Some TV stations have already put demands for cash on the table in advance of the October 1 federal deadline for broadcasters to tell cable operators whether they plan to negotiate retransmission-consent deals for carriage of their signals. While the official cutoff date looms, a number of broadcasters have already made their so-called "elections," notifying multichannel pay TV distributors whether they are demanding carriage of their stations — so-called must-carry — or if they will only "consent" to carriage after negotiating terms, according to Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, a lobbying group for independent operators. In fact, some broadcasters have gone ahead and notified cable systems of their demands, including cash compensation, in exchange for carriage of their TV signals, Polka said. "I have seen the gamut of requested fees so far ranging from 40 cents to $1.10 per station, per subscriber, per month," he added. Stations that opt for must-carry can't seek payment from distributors. Many retransmission-consent contracts are on a three-year cycle that ends Dec. 31, but some deals expire earlier.