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'SAMENA Daily' - News

Lebanese TV networks call for cable carriage fees

Lebanon's broadcasters are calling for a levy to be placed on cable TV subscriptions to pay for the distribution of their television content.

Domestic broadcasters Tele Liban, LBCI, MTV, Future TV, Al-Manar, NBN, OTV and Al-Jadeed argue that cable operators currently pay fees to distribute premium content from overseas pay-TV players such as OSN and beIN Sport, however do not do the same for their Lebanese content.

"They pay for OSN and beIN but not for [our content], even though we attract more than 75% of viewers during prime time," Pierre Daher, chairman of LBCI's board of directors, told The Daily Star.

"Cable companies charge a monthly fee amounting to around $15 per subscriber ... we want them to pay us a chunk of that money."

There are an estimated 700,000 to 800,000 cable subscribers in Lebanon, according to NBN's chairman Qassem Sweid. He told the daily newspaper that the proposed carriage fees would help ease the financial burden the Lebanese television industry has faced.

"The annual advertising revenue for the eight television stations has dropped from $100 million five years ago to $60 million today," he said, adding: "This number could drop further in the coming year."

Critics have suggested, however, that cable subscribers would be unwilling to pay for the Lebanese channels when they were available free-to-air via satellite.

 



Source: http://www.rapidtvnews.com/2015030537457/lebanese-tv-networks-call-for-cable-carriage-fees.html#axzz3TbsVI5CO

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