Pay-For-Play Is Growing Diginet Strategy
By buying time on station subchannels rather than splitting ad revenue with an affiliation deal, multicast networks remain in charge of selling inventory and the stations collect a monthly fee with a minimum of effort and outlay. However, the upcoming spectrum auction could make subchannel space to rent a scarcer commodity. This is part 3 of a three-part special report. Read parts 1 and 2 here.
Diginets Building Themselves A Market
The multicast networks that stations are using to populate their subchannels are estimated to generate between $250 million and $350 million a year in total ad revenues, growing 4% to 5% a year. “It’s still early in the game, says Katz TV Media’s Bill Carroll. “They’re in the ‘build-out phase,’ the news being they’ve extended the reach, and enhanced the profile, of broadcast stations. A few are already visible in ratings terms, and others are quickly becoming so.” Here’s a look at the diginet trends and our exclusive ranking of the top 25 by TV household coverage.
