Cost per Channel for Cable/Sat Providers

[ClevelandRob]

I've been trying to find a listing of cost per channel that the cable/sat providers pay. I'm sure each provider has a different contract with each channel, but I was hoping to find a list for at least one cable/sat provider to reference... I know ESPN charges something like $3/per sub/per month, while I'm sure something like Comedy Central is like 50¢...

Anyone that can provide some insight will be my new best friend! Thanks!

 

[AntAltMike]

There won't be any such list, as every contract is unique. The contracts are very complex, as they may mandate the placement of the channel, its tier status, carriage of less desirable programming. When I buy ESPN from a programming aggregator for resale, it costs over $5 per sub per month, whereas when I buy it in bulk from DirecTV or DISH, it only costs a little over $3 per sub per month, provided they also carry ESPNews and Classic Sports Network.

At one time, ESPN was requiring that, on private cable systems, all of its channels had to be numbered 32 or less and had to be successive.

ESPN used to pay the cable companies to carry it. That was back when they featured PKA Karate and tractor pulls and sold Zamfir albums. Now, between paying over $5 for ESPN, $1 for ESPN2, $2.70 for COmcast Sports Mid-Atlantic and a comparable amount for NASN, private cable systems are rerely financially viable.