The rise in retransmission fees has more than compensated for the COVID-19 hit on TV station revenue, at least in the early months of the pandemic. That is according to a new Pew Research Center analysis. The report also found that ad revenue for network news--ABC, CBS, and NBC--were actually up in 2Q 2020, while cable news revenue held steady, though only thanks to Fox, whose large increases covered declines at CNN and MSNBC.

The broadcast TV study was based on second-quarter ad revenue (the quarter ending June 30, 2020) for Sinclair, Tegna, Nexstar*, Gray and Scripps, compared to second quarter 2019 revenue. The overall report was based on financial data from the Securities and Exchange Commission for publicly traded companies, and data from Kantar.

While the stories of individual stations undoubtedly vary, Pew found that while ad revenue was down for 2Q 2020 from 2019, the increase in retransmission consent fees "more than made up for it."

The study said that across those five TV station group operators, which together have over 600 TV stations, retrans fees were up "sharply" in 2Q 2020, by 37% or a total $87.3 million in median revenue, more than covering the median ad revenue decline of 24% to $67.9 million. Sinclair represented the biggest boost in fees, a whopping 175%, with Scripps second at 55% and Tegna getting the median position at 37%.

The ad total for the three network nightly newscasts was up 11% in 2Q 2020 over the comparable 2019 quarter, with ABC pulling most of the weight, up a whopping 21% to NBC's 7% and CBS's 3%.

For the cable news outlets studied, total ad revenue was up 2% for the quarter, year over year, to $422 million, but Fox News was doing the heavy lifting to lift the average. Driven by big ratings gains, Fox news had its biggest Q2 year-over-year revenue increase in more than a decade, up 41%, while CNN ad revenue fell 14% and MSNBC 27%, despite higher ratings for both in the quarter, with CNN more than doubling its prime time audience over 2019.

*Because Pew is comparing revenues to second quarter 2019, before Nexstar's September 2019 merger with Tribune, former Tribune station revenues have been backed out of the Nexstar 2020 numbers so it is an apples-to-apples comparison.

Much has been written about the inevitable demise of broadcast television in the wake of fierce competition from cable networks and streaming video services such as Netflix and Hulu.

Thus far in 2018, marquee broadcast network draws like the Academy Awards, The Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics suffered significant audience losses compared to previous iterations due to a very crowded television landscape as well as shifting viewing habits in which viewers are less likely to watch shows when they are initially scheduled.

That’s why the recent ratings success last week of CBS’ 60 Minutes and ABC’s Roseanne opened eyes within the industry. CBS’ venerable news magazine drew more than 22 million viewers for its March 25 episode – the highest audience for the series in nearly a decade -- bolstered by an exclusive interview with porn star Stormy Daniels, whose claim of an alleged sexual relationship with President Trump has recently dominated headlines.

The same week, ABC’s return of its classic comedy series Roseanne shocked many industry observers by drawing more than 18.4 million viewers for its premiere, and 21.8 million in Nielsen Live+3 ratings, according to ABC. 

The performance of the series' return to television -- now the most watched new series premiere for the 2017-18 broadcast season according to ABC -- was surprising, even as many other series reboots have performed well on the ratings front.

RELATED: Series Reboots -- Something Borrowed, Something New

ABC didn’t waste any time in renewing Roseanne for an 11th season on Friday.

Both shows benefited from huge promotional buildup heading into their respective premieres, which obviously helped generate interest from casual viewers as well as hard-core fans of both veteran franchises.

The results show that unique or special event programming can still draw in huge viewership on linear television despite declining network  audiences. Time will tell if Roseanne can maintain its strong ratings momentum throughout its nine-episode run, but its off to a promising start.

Live sports and news programming have proven to be consistent ratings draws for broadcast networks; 60 Minutes and Roseanne showed that water cooler-worthy event programming can also ring the ratings bell for traditional television in the age of video streaming. 

LGBTQ representation on broadcast television networks is at a high point according to the latest GLAAD “Where WE Are On TV” report, the LGBTQ advocacy organization reported Thursday.

According to the report, LGBTQ characters represent 4.8% of all characters on broadcast television shows during the 2016-17 television season, the highest percentage since GLAAD began tracking all broadcast regular characters 12 years ago. There was also an increase in the number of regular LGBTQ characters on cable, up to 92 from 84. However, LGBTQ recurring characters dropped year-over-year from 58 to 50, according to the survey.

In addition, GLAAD reported a record number of black regular characters (20%) as well as regular characters with disabilities (1.7%) on broadcast TV series during the 2016-17 season. Also, the number of transgender regular and recurring characters has more than doubled since last year’s report.

On the downside, more than 25 lesbian and bisexual female-identifying characters were killed off on scripted television and streaming services since the beginning of 2016, according to the report. GLAAD also said that cable and streaming platforms still need to include more racially diverse LGBTQ characters. On cable 72% of LGBTQ characters are white, while 71% of LGBTQ characters on streaming services are non-ethnic, according to the study.

“While it is heartening to see progress being made in LGBTQ representation on television, it’s important to remember that numbers are only part of the story, and we must continue the push for more diverse and intricate portrayals of the LGBTQ community,” said Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO in a statement. “GLAAD will continue to work with Hollywood to tell nuanced LGBTQ stories that accelerate acceptance – and hold the networks, streaming services, and content creators accountable for the images and storylines they present.”