KTKA (ABC Topeka) and Dish Network Come To Agreement

[homeskillet]

KTKA (49 ABC) will be dropped by Dish Network on January 1. As of 12:07 AM it is still on-air.

http://www.ktka.com/news/2008/dec/31/attention_viewers_dish_network_drops_ktka/

[JohnH]

Seems to be gone now.

[homeskillet]

According to KTKA, Dish Network is no longer talking with them about carriage. KTKA wants 25 Cents per sub, and Dish Network offered 15 Cents.

[James Long]

According to KTKA, Dish Network is no longer talking with them about carriage. KTKA wants 25 Cents per sub, and Dish Network offered 15 Cents.Wow. If DISH is offering everyone 15c that could add up on a nationwide basis.
KTKA releasing real numbers can't help the negotiation. That should be confidential.
Being 66% too high (or 40% too low, based on perspective) is a long way off.

[bjs188]

What is interesting is that KTKA is owned by a company that also owns a cable company. I wonder how much Sunflower Broadband pays for KTKA.

Also it looks like KMBC has been pulled off of Sunflower Broadband. Very interesting.

http://www.sunflowerbroadband.com/cable/broadcast_retransmission.html

[homeskillet]

Yeah, and Sunflower Broadband added KTKA SD & HD on the channel numbers that KMBC was on "so the consumer wouldn't lose any ABC programming" Hmm....

I wonder if The World Company (owners of KTKA and Sunflower Broadband, and the Lawrence Journal-World) felt that maybe they could force a few more eyeballs on KTKA since they've been struggling financially.

[homeskillet]

Wow. If DISH is offering everyone 15c that could add up on a nationwide basis.
KTKA releasing real numbers can't help the negotiation. That should be confidential.
Being 66% too high (or 40% too low, based on perspective) is a long way off.

Just an FYI. The article that states how much each has offered is here:
http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/jan/02/ktka_no_longer_dish_lineup/

[homeskillet]

Not many details...

http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/jan/07/ktka_dish_network_come_agreement/

[JohnH]

Good timing. It is back as of a few minutes ago. :)

[homeskillet]

KTKA announced that Dish Network will be broadcasting their HD channel to Northeast Kansas viewers soon. WIBW-HD is already available in HD for Northeast Kansas.

http://www.ktka.com/news/2009/jan/07/ktka_dish_network_come_agreement/ <-- updated story.

[david_jr]

From reading the article it sounds as though it was the parent company and not the station that was holding things up. That is probably true of most of these retransmission hold ups.