Second Thoughts on a Television Career for Bill Clinton

The cable network that really needs Bill Clinton is BBC America. Bill Clinton is a star of the first magnitude -- people pay to see him, which is why he gets such high speaking fees. If he were to do a one hour "news maker of the night" program on BBC America primetime (and of course repeat it primetime West Coast), I think he'd quintuple BBC's somewhat meager ratings in those time periods.

More important to the establishment of BBC, is the number of subscribers that Clinton's program might bring to the network. BBC is seen in only about 30 million homes, compared to CNN's more than 90 million. I think Clinton is one of the few stars big enough to bring millions of Americans to whatever network he happens to appears on.

The BBC has a huge advantage in that it is already carried on Direct TV, the cable industry's most feared rival. If Americans switch from cable to satellite just to see Bill, as I think some of them will, the cable systems that don't carry BBC America now will pick it up immediately.

Here's how it might work: A million American homes switch from cable to satellite within 6 months of the arrival of the big Bubba. Cable systems panic, and add BBC as fast as they can put their pens to contract. If even half of the systems that don't carry BBC now were to switch, BBC America might wind up with 60 million viewers, which turns a nice idea into a real business.

Thirty million more viewers at a nickel a month would add $18 million to BBC America's bottom line. The additional ad revenue from his broadcasts would add at least a couple of million dollars more and the gain in revenue from all the other programming in all other time periods, just because they can be seen by twice as many people (remember, we've doubled subscribers), would enable BBC to pay $20 million a year, and still make more money than it is making now.

Yesterday, Media Week reported that, according to Nielsen, "the number of TV households that view TV programs via alternative delivery systems, such as satellite TV, continue to grow, while wired cable remains at 18-year low...Direct broadcast satellite...is at 28.4 percent, up from 27.6 percent, in Nov. 2007."

The timing is right -- Bill Clinton is currently the $20 million man, and, Bob Barnett, if you're reading this, call BBC America ASAP. You'll be doing Bill Clinton, the BBC and the American news viewing public a great service.