It seems they figured something out. Unfortunately, in the mean time a lot of us have learned that there's not much on ABC that we can't live without.

Here's the reply I got from Ray Cole of Citadel Communications Company:

Kirk:

Thanks for your email, and I'm anxious to respond.

First, let me re-state the essence of our argument: While ABC5 will allow anyone to receive our programming for personal use for FREE by using an antenna, we simply can't allow a video provider such as DISH to take our signal and re-sell it to the public without compensating us in a reasonable and equitable manner. But DISH (and apparently you for that matter!!) believes that it should be entitled to take our local, syndicated and network programs -- in which we've invested heavily -- and charge people to view it without compensating us fairly. The fact that they may be performing some degree of small "favor" by helping with the distribution of our signal is reflected in the amount of the carriage fee we are seeking compared to what they pay other program services whose audiences are a fraction of ABC5's. And few copyright holders would ever give up their rights in the blind manner you suggest. Like us, most would fight to protect their investment. No, my position does not "fall apart" in the way you think it does.

Second, your assumption that local television stations can continue to operate solely on advertising revenues is also wrong. While that may have been possible in the "old" days when there were just 3-5 local stations broadcasting over the air in most markets, it's no longer the case in a world where the average household now receives 118.6 television channels (Source: Nielsen June, 2008). The majority of the competing program services rely on a dual revenue stream involving both advertising revenues and subscription fees; local broadcasters have the same need in this ever more competitive environment. For reasons that should be obvious, we can't get into what we're asking for in the way of carriage fees, but I can tell you it's absolutely fair and reasonable.

Finally, you correctly point out that many of our best programs are available for a charge in downloadable form or for free on our own website just hours after being broadcast on our station. But most, like you, do not consider this a "viable option" due to the timeliness of the broadcast and the degree to which live news, sports, and other special programming is not available in this manner. But I would agree that it's certainly great for sampling or "catching up" on our regular programmimg that you might have missed.

So where does that leave us? Here is the updated viewer advisory we posted on our website just this morning:

"We regret to inform our DISH viewers that there is virtually nothing new to report since the last update (see below) which was posted on Tuesday, August 12. Specifically, our most recent counter-proposal submitted to DISH on Thursday, August 7 has received neither fair consideration or substantive follow-up. They continue to appear to have "gone silent" from our point of view. In fact, the only noteworthy action taken by DISH in the past 10 days has been the removal of the video they've been running on the channel normally reserved for our station and, in its place, the posting of a static page that conveys misleading information in regards to our dispute with them. Tactics such as these, along with an unwillingness to engage us in an ongoing dialogue, will certainly not get us moving towards a deal that's fair and reasonable to both parties."

In closing, please know that we will continue to reach out to DISH to strike an acceptable agreement.

Sincerely,

Ray Cole, President
Citadel Communications Company