Retransmission fees worth £1.5 billion to ITV

Retransmission fees would add about £1.5 billion (€1.88 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 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. That 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.