Karl Miller responds to me:

>>...Met GM Joseph Volpe said in the Times story that this is a giant
>>step, but only one step toward any kind of solid future for the Met
>>broadcasts as we have known them.  Each season costs 7-million dollars
>>to produce,
>
>Does anyone know why it should cost so much?

It's my understanding that every affiliate in the U.S.  at least gets a
fee from ChevTex, and some commercial outlets that dropped the broadcasts
claimed they could make more money with the advertising they put on.
This could be true in December, but Saturday is off-peak for most
commercial stations.

Laurence Glavin