The fee structure of the Public Radio Satellite System will change after a recent vote by National Public Radio’s board.
The current system uses a flat fee approach; but based on a recommendation from the e Distribution/Interconnection Committee, the board found the flat fee was “not perceived as equitable.” So effective Jan. 1, 2017, station D/I fees will be calculated by multiplying a station’s Total Station Revenue by an applicable percentage rate set each year.
An announcement noted that currently, “Some stations pay as much as 4% of their TSR for PRSS services while others pay as little as 0.04% of TSR.”
According to the release, the D/I Committee developed the total station revenue percentage model after studying data from station visits, PRSS help desk tickets, meetings and attendance at several public radio-oriented conferences, and considering several possible approaches. “The expectation is that in 2017, no station will pay more than $10,500, that is, the increase will be no more than $1,500 over this year (the current rate is $9,020). It is likely that about 140 of the smallest stations will pay less than they are paying now.”
A webinar concerning this change will be held on March 16, 1–2 p.m. ET. Registration is available here.
