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TelevisionWeek has eyes and ears at NATPE, with Andrew Krukowski, Josef Adalian and Greg Baumann roaming the floor and the suites to give readers the buzz in Las Vegas. Check back frequently for the sightings, asides and hallway murmurs that make NATPE a can’t-miss syndication event.

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NATPE Blog

The Cobra and the Mongoose

December 5, 2008 9:10 AM

There’s a cobra-mongoose dynamic intensifying between stations and syndication companies. TV stations are up against the ropes, having suffered continual revenue bleed for the last few years. It sets up an ugly spiral. Less revenue means less to spend on programming, which means they can only afford cheaper programming, which bleeds audience, which leads to lower ad revenue, and the cycle continues. When does the syndication industry reach its tipping point? The prospect of digital subchannels further fragmenting the audience is giving me the willies.

—Greg Baumann