News Corp.’s Chase Carey Continues To Talk Fox News Carriage Fees: ‘We’ll take it to another level’

By Alex Weprin 

At an investor conference in Florida yesterday, News Corp. COO Chase Carey continued to talk about Fox News Channel’s carriage fee negotiations. Carey has made it clear over the last few months that FNC believes it is in a league of its own in terms of value, with only the sports networks like ESPN more valuable.

“We’re not shy about being aggressive and asking enough,” Carey said. “We expect there should be a significant increase in the value of Fox News. We’re not asking what ESPN is asking, or anything close, but we’ll take it to another level.”

ESPN currently receieves $4.08 per subscriber per month, according to SNL Kagan, while FNC receives an average of $0.58 per month. The SNL Kagan numbers can often lag behind the actual average, however.

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FNC is believed to be seeking $1.25 per sub per month, though whether it gets that number remains to be seen. It certainly received a carriage fee increase in its latest deal with Cablevision, which closed last month.

Carey has been making a point of comparing FNC to ESPN in recent months on earnings calls and at conferences.

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