Retransmission consent continues to be the biggest area of revenue growth for local broadcasters, with station group owners E.W. Scripps Company and Nexstar Broadcasting both reporting more than 30 percent gains in the fees they collect from cable and satellite TV providers.

Scripps reported Tuesday that it booked $4 million in revenue from retransmission consent deals during the third quarter, up 32 percent from the same period last year. Nexstar said that it collected nearly $10 million in retransmission consent fees during Q3, which was a 30.5 percent increase from this time last year.

LIN TV reported similar increases in retransmission consent fees when it reported earnings last week.

Nexstar was one of the first station group owners to pull its signals from cable operators until they agreed to pay increased fees. It spent most of 2005 battling with Cable One over retransmission consent fees, and has also had disputes with Cox Communications.