CBS and affiliates close to deal on digital downloads?

Filed in archive Business Trends , Internet TV on June 1, 2006

CBS and its affiliates still haven't reached an agreement for how to deal with a host of new-media issues -- but they may be getting closer. CBS and its affiliates are meeting in Las Vegas, looking to hammer out a new digital agreement. The existing one gives stations a too-sizable 50 percent of current digital revenues. That surely isn't prudent enough from CBS' perspective--not when other similar stations deals, like that of Fox's, give stations anywhere from 12.5 percent to 25 percent.

What will make stations back down? Oh, just a little thing they really want: the NFL. Stations can give up their hefty stake in future digital profits, in return for modest financial contributions for the NFL -- something that gives them hefty benefits in a big way right now.

Variety (subscription required) goes on to say:

"As for broadband, Fox and its [affiliates] recently worked out a template that allows the net to put a number of its shows on a broad range of digital platforms, from video-on-demand to MySpace to iTunes. NBC and its stations also recently formed the National Broadband Co., a joint venture designed to yield profits from video content generated by NBC Universal companies and NBC [affiliates].

"Those deals offer some idea of how CBS and its [affiliates] may begin to approach an agreement, though ... every deal between affiliates and networks is different."