And as long as viewership numbers continue to climb, undoubtedly so too will the networks' willingness to bid up what were once bargain broadcasting rights.
Digital growth, once initial bargain subscriptions have lapsed, seems to have stalled a little.
Buyers, however, need to be aware (if not exactly beware) that once a bargain becomes permanent, there is often a hitch.
Once this bargain is struck, the final stage is relatively simple (at least, it has been in the past): the choice of Commission president goes before the new MEPs for an up-down vote.
Once a bargain at a nickel a ride, it is now absolutely free and as breezy and romantic as ever (the doughnuts and hot dogs aren't bad, either).
It is not exactly true, as the minister has implied, that dozens of qualified and virtuous people check the minutiae of every deal: three deputies are entitled to learn their gist, once the bargaining is over.Mr Jannati's comments, though reflecting a general antipathy towards foreign oil companies, were also directed at a domestic audience.
But by flying in the face of protocol and using the term "Arabian Gulf", the State Department risks backsliding to a posture in which the US once again bargains away its moral authority in exchange for caustic, emotionally satisfying insults.
Employers were often confronted by several unions at once, all demanding to bargain on behalf of workers.
Republicans said the flexibility demanded by President Bush was too fundamental to bargain away and once again suggested that by disagreeing, Democrats were not concentrating on national security.
"Hopefully, once we're in Parliament, we can bargain to change the constitution," he said.
