Thursday, Jul. 02, 2009

ETV collects more fees for Sanford coverage

National broadcasters paid nearly $25,000 for satellite uplinks during week ending June 30

ETV has a hot revenue stream: Gov. Mark Sanford.

Since June 23, the day before Sanford held a news conference and revealed marital infidelity, ETV has earned nearly $25,000 in satellite fees.

The station has done satellite uplinks for national broadcasters, including CNN and MSNBC.

In comparison, ETV made $45,000 in fees for studio and satellite time for Sanford’s TV appearances from Jan. 1, 2008, through mid-May. Sanford used ETV studios for interviews while opposing government stimulus money and criticizing President Barack Obama’s plans to save jobs, among other things.

The $24,962.50 ETV recently collected was for 18 uplinks between June 23 and June 30, a week in which Sanford’s affair made international headlines.

But that amount isn’t a gold mine for ETV.

“If you want to compare it from year to year, no,” said Debbie Hamlett, ETV’s development and programming director, when asked whether the figures exceeded the norm.

“If it’s an election year, there’s obviously more,” Hamlett added, citing the uplink requests during the 2008 Democratic and Republican primaries.

National news events like the Myrtle Beach fires also have increased satellite requests in recent months.

“It really depends on what’s in the news cycle,” Hamlett said. “It’s an ongoing part of our business.”

Sanford might not be ETV’s biggest source of revenue, but, at the very least, he’s not cutting into the station’s budget. He began the year wanting to eliminate more than $700,000 from ETV’s budget.

From the $700 million in stimulus money Sanford was forced to accept, ETV will receive $540,000 for satellite costs.

It will allow the station to keep beaming images and sound bites of Sanford around the world. That money also will keep ETV programs in classrooms across the state.

Reach Taylor at (803) 771-8362.

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