FX dials up DirecTV
Cabler to gain access to 4 mil sat subs
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Sources said DirecTV, a direct broadcast satellite company that distributes cable networks and pay-per-view movies and events to a total of 5.3 million households in the U.S., will pony up about $15 million in license fees to FX in the first year of a five-year contract, a figure that will rise slightly each year through built-in hikes.
Total Choice access
But the sources added that DirecTV will get about $6.5 million of this back through a launch budget that FX will pay to get a lock on DirecTV's most widely circulated basic-cable tier, the Total Choice package. This package costs owners of DirecTV's satellite dishes $29.95 a month.
FX has grown slowly since it opened for business in June 1994. From a subscriber count of 20 million in early 1995, FX now gets into 39.6 million homes, according to Nielsen Media Research as of this August.
By comparison, in the same period, Sci-Fi Channel shot up from 20.8 million to 56.8 million, ESPN2 leapt from 19.56 million to 65 million and Cartoon Network soared from 16.2 million to 58 million.
In the ratings throughout the last year or so, FX also has suffered because its primetime reruns of "The X-Files" and "NYPD Blue" have worn out their welcome through overuse, and exclusive new series like "Bobcat's Big Ass Show" and "Penn & Teller's Sin City Spectacular" have not generated eye-opening ratings.
New fare
But FX president Peter Liguori said the network has begun to stock up on original series like the weekly "World Toughman Championship Series" and the nightly "X Show," and forthcoming reruns of "Ally McBeal," "The Practice" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
FX took so long to do a deal with DirecTV because the cabler offered exclusivity in its original contracts with operators, a rare concession motivated by a desire to drive circulation. But last year, the Federal Communications Commission ruled against such deals and forced Murdoch to sell FX to all interested parties. This is when FX and DirecTV started negotiations.
