If you looked at the finances of the broadcast TV networks, you might not be optimistic about the future of free TV. Even though the profits may be slim on the broadcast segment alone, other areas of media companies enjoy the benefits. Spending money on new programs helps sister divisions such as TV production studios, which will own the rights to shows in perpetuity and can sell them in other countries, to other channels and on home video. That's partly why NBC is investing 40 percent more on new shows this year than in the 2009-10 season. The most expensive shows that generate the largest audiences are usually developed on broadcast TV before migrating to cable channels. The benefit of hitting a home run outweighs the cost of a few strikeouts. Mega-hits like "CSI" or "Lost" can be sold around the world and generate hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing fees for reruns. Broadcast operators are now getting an estimated 50 cents or so per month for every pay TV subscriber. Broadcast TV, not cable, remains the easiest way for advertisers to get their message out quickly. Nothing yet beats the big audiences that broadcast TV can deliver at once.
Read more from the Associated Press.
