ESPN Trumps All Cable Fees, CPMs

ESPN has the highest affiliate fees in cable, but its CPMs also outpace the other cable networks by a wide margin. ESPN’s average CPM is $15.63, above second place Golf Channel’s $11.56.

MTV comes in third at $11.38, above fourth-place Bravo at $10.82 followed by the WE network’s $9.66. The figures were made available in a Barclays Capital report and come from estimates from SNL Kagan and Barclays.

In affiliate fees, ESPN leads at $5.06 per subscriber per month. Although adoption has been low, two 3D networks -- ESPN 3D and 3net -- follow at $2.71 and $1.29, respectively.

TNT is fourth at $1.21, followed by the Disney Channel at $0.97. The NFL Network, which has steadily gained carriage, is sixth at $0.84, followed by Fox News at $0.82. For homes with both ESPN and ESPN2, the company takes in $5.73 for the pair.

The figures are only for networks in 40 million or more homes and do not include regional sports networks.

Ten of the top 25 networks in CPMs are sports channels, with ESPN2 and the MLB Network joining ESPN and Golf Channel in the top 10 at $8.86 and $8.85, respectively.

The MLB Network leads NBA TV’s $7.77 and the NFL Network’s $7.72. Three other networks in the top 10 are Discovery Channel at $9.33, CNBC at $8.61 and FX at $8.53.

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