Update - Not going away?!?!?
I just got back from vacation and had decided to go ahead and take their offer (AT200, HD for life, no contract, Platinum for 6 mos, intro price for 12 months). RSN's are the main motivation.
Anyway, I called back on the number they gave me which previously had gone to Denver to very knowledgeable agents. This time I only got a CSR in India and neither he nor his supervisor had a clue about the offer and didn't even know who I should call. So, I called the corporate office and got the executive resolution office. I was told the offer is valid and I should be able to get it resolved with the same number I called. They also told me that it was Dish who called orginally, but "I SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN TOLD THE PACKAGE WAS BEING DISCONTINUED". She said as long as no changes are made to one's account, the Absolute will continue to exist for now.
When I asked why some had been called and not others, she also explained that the ones that received calls were selected on the basis of account activity, billing preferences and payment history. She said not everyone with Absolute would receive the offer.
It's hard to put much faith in anything at this point, but this conversation at least makes sense. So, if you don't want to change anything and haven't been called it appears to be business as usual.