When it comes to profit, the Peacock network trails its broadcast peers by as much as $1 billion.
That’s according to NBCUniversal boss Steve Burke, who said the network brings in between $500 million and $1 billion less than rivals ABC, CBS and Fox.
NBC’s ad rates run about 20 percent below other networks because of smaller ratings, Burke said Wednesday at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch media conference in Beverly Hills.
The network ended the most recent broadcast season in third place among 18-49 year-old viewers, the key viewing category for advertisers.
The poor ratings have been a disappointment given NBCU’s investment in programming since it was acquired by cable giant Comcast.
Aside from lower ad rates, the ratings have also hurt NBC’s ability to capture higher “retransmission” fees paid by cable and satellite-TV distributors. Retransmission fees amount to around $200 million a year, Burke said.
NBC can’t negotiate for higher fees until the current contracts expire. Burke said 25 percent are complete, while the other 75 percent don’t expire until next year.
NBC recently completed a deal with Charter Communications. Its next big deal with Time Warner Cable expires in 2014.