ESPN ranks as the industry’s most expensive ad-supported cable-TV channel, and pay-TV operators have long chafed at the cost. In addition, broadcasters, including Disney, have asked for increases in the so-called retransmission fees that pay-TV operators must pay to transmit the signals of local TV stations as part of their channel packages. According to the alliance, television station owners this year will collect a combined $10 billion in such retransmission fees, up from $9.3 billion in 2017.
Source: latimes.com – Los Angeles Times