Everyone's Got A TV Price: Cablevision, Fox, And Even New York-Area Viewers

Who knew that Cablevision already makes lots of money by running Fox TV programming? At least that's what Kevin Reilly, president of Fox Entertainment, says.

Reilly says Cablevision video customers pay around $15 a month for broadcast-network retransmission -- which, Friedman guesses is about a third of their overall monthly video bill. Why a third? Because that's around the share levels the broadcast networks have these days. No, it isn't the 50% or 60% of years ago, but still 30% is nothing to sneeze about. Reilly's point was that viewers don't really know much about the intricacies of the Cablevision/Fox snafu. But they know this: They contracted with Cablevision to get certain networks -- cable and broadcast -- and now they are not getting them. Like it or not, Cablevision monetizes broadcast viewership -- even though this is not a main selling point. Perhaps the company ought to start pushing its retail efforts for broadcasters a bit. Maybe existing Cablevision broadcast network partners -- ABC, NBC, and CBS -- might give them a little nudge.