Retransmission fees worth £1.5bn to ITV

Retransmission fees would add about £1.5 billion (US$2.4 billion) to the value of ITV, according to analysts.

The UK commercial broadcaster has started a concerted lobbying effort for retransmission fees from the UK’s pay TV platforms – with the pay TV companies lined up in opposition.

Channel 4 has also publicly backed ITV’s calls for fees, with CEOs of both organisations, David Abraham and Adam Crozier (pictured), going public with lobbying efforts.

Analysts at investment bank Credit Suisse have calculated that retransmission fees, if implemented along US lines, would have generated £50 million for UK broadcasters this year. That total would, the investment bank added, increase dramatically to £410 million by 2025.

The retrans total would equate to £11 million in revenue for ITV, increasing to £90 million in 2025. The predicted 38p per share boost to ITV’s stock would mean a £1.5 billion increase in its core value, according to Credit Suisse.

The bank did caution that the introduction of retrains fees is far from certain, will be opposed by pay platforms and would require regulatory change.

This week, cable company Liberty Global, which recently acquired a 6% stake in ITV, said it did not support calls for changes to retransmission feeds. Liberty Global’s senior VP and chief strategy officer Jim Ryan said the UK did not need US-style consent fees.