Bewkes: Retrans Is Good For Time Warner
Time Warner CEO Touts Health Of Subscription Model, Company's Prospects With New Technology
Claire Atkinson (Broadcsting & Cable) -- Multichannel News, 3/9/2010 3:36:39 PM
Time Warner CEO Jeff Bewkes outlined the reasons why he supports broadcast networks getting paid by distributors for their content and why he believes his company isn't under threat from new technologies.
"On balance, it's a good thing," Bewkes said March 9 at the annual Credit Suisse Global Media & Communications Convergence Conference in Palm Beach, Fla. "The networks are going to try very hard to get some kind of a material retransmission payment and they'll succeed to a certain extent."
He added: "We are a very interested party with strong relationships selling series to broadcast networks.... We have a very big business, we sell to all four networks, and their ability to continue that profitable business is good for Warner Bros. and good on the Turner side since a significant staple of those properties is the acquired series that we produce. Having this ecosystem will help TNT and TBS."
Bewkes said that over the past six months there has been a huge swing towards the subscription model that is the basis of Time Warner's biggest business, whether through Turner Broadcasting or HBO.
"The fight to move subscription models online has gained momentum in the last six months, whether at The New York Times with pay walls or The Wall Street Journal, or whether it is some of the broadcast networks seeking retransmission fees. There is a movement towards a dual-revenue stream, with premium advertising and subscription models going across all kinds of TV networks and print products."
Read the complete story at B&C here.
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