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State of the Screens

Fox Warns The Big Ten Deal With Comcast is Expiring

By August 1, 2018No Comments

Monthly revenue/subscriber for Big Ten Network:
1)
Big Ten market — $1.30
2)
Non-Big Ten market — ≈ $0.10
3) Average — $0.56

Quick math:
1)
Monthly revenue/subscriber — $0.56
2)
Total cable subscribers — 51.3M
3)
Monthly subscriber revenue — $28.7M
4)
Annual subscriber revenue — $344.7M

Flashback #1: Big Ten TV revenue distribution reaches an insane $51 million per school

Revenue distribution per school:
1)
2013 — $25M
2)
2017 — $36M
3)
2018 — $51M (↑ 42% YoY)

Flashback #2: The Dodgers Are on a Roll but Fans Remain in the Dark Amid Cable-TV Dispute

The Dodgers are guaranteed $8.35b over 25 years from Time Warner (now Charter Communications).

That breaks down to an average of $334m/year!

In order to break even, the Network needs to make $1,988 from every pay-TV subscriber in the region or an average of $80/year.

Why do sports rights cost so much? Many believe a sports rights bubble is about to burst, but live sports continue to dominate the ratings.

More #1: Prime Time TV Ratings For Each Team At The MLB All-Star Break

Primetime rankings for MLB baseball teams:
1) 11 are overall #1 for broadcast/cable
2) 22 are top 3 for broadcast/cable
3) 24 are #1 for cable

More #2: Why Disney Should Have Multiple Suitors for Fox’s 22 Regional Sports Networks

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.