In N.Y., Claire Atkinson cites data from SNL Kagan showing that following NFL Network's recent carriage deals with Time Warner Cable and Cablevision, the net “will see its average subscriber fee jump nearly 60 percent next year.” That will make it “the third-most expensive sports net, costing pay-TV providers on average $1.29 per subscriber, up from 81 cents this year” (N.Y. POST, 12/13). Atkinson in a separate piece writes assuming pay-TV providers “pass along” the rising costs of cable sports channels to subscribers, New Yorkers “could end up paying an additional $44.28 next year, or a total of $314.04, for sports channels that come packaged with most pay-TV services.” That figure is “up 16.4 percent in just two years.” American Cable Association President & CEO Matthew Polka said, “Insane TV sports contracts will cause cable- and satellite-TV bills to skyrocket” (N.Y. POST, 12/13).
TOP OF THE TELLY: The GUARDIAN's Tara Conlan reported coverage of the London Olympics and Euro 2012 in the U.K. "dominates the list of the most-popular TV programmes of the year ahead of the usual chart toppers” (GUARDIAN, 12/12).
|
MOST-VIEWED PROGRAMS IN THE U.K. IN '12
|
|
RK
|
DATE
|
NET
|
PROGRAM |
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
1
|
8/12
|
BBC1
|
London Olympics Closing Ceremony |
24.5
|
|
2
|
7/27
|
BBC1
|
London Olympics Opening Ceremony |
24.2
|
|
3
|
6/24
|
BBC1
|
Euro 2012: England-Italy |
20.3
|
|
4
|
8/5
|
BBC1
|
London Olympics: Men’s 100m track final |
17.3
|
|
5
|
6/19
|
ITV1
|
Euro 2012: England-Ukraine* |
16.3
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
CHART NOTE: * = Also includes 100,000 viewers on ITV1.
PUB FARE: ESPN.com’s Chris Gigley reported the newly launched American Soccer Now website is “a virtual version of one of those bars where ardent soccer fans gather to watch live matches from Europe in the wee hours.” Editor-in-Chief John Godfrey and his “small team of editors and designers introduced the world to AmericanSoccerNow.com on Oct. 4 and, with little promotion or advertising, watched the site steadily gain traffic.” Users “can log on to ASN and use interactive tools to debate.” The focus of the site is "strictly U.S. players" for now (ESPN.com, 12/12).
