Let's look at just retransmission rights for the New York News Corp stations, because it's simple.
"In his report, Joyce estimated that Cablevision pays about $8.6 million a year for WNYW-TV and WWOR-TV in New York, and that News Corp. is now seeking $34 million a year."
I assume every Cablevision subscriber gets those stations. So this translates to just less than a 400% increase, just for those two local stations.
There's nothing fancy about that. It's just a money grab. No increase in value to the subscriber. Just more money. There's no other way to nuance it.
I've said this so many times, and in so many ways, I'm a broken record. HOW CAN NEWS CORP. CHARGE ANY CARRIER A RE-TRANSMISSION FEE FOR A FREE SERVICE? The FCC and the department of justice should be investigating all of these re-transmission fees for all local broadcast stations in their markets. I shouldn't have to pay a penny for any channel that I can receive on an OTA antenna.