That's been brought up before, and so I ask the question... if Dish could fill in (with a nearby local) when a contract dispute happens, what keeps Dish negotiating "in good faith"?
I still think there is a simple solution...
1) Determine which ratings company (or combination) to use.
2) Use 3rd party arbitration to determine a cost/rating point.
3) ALL MVPDs pay per subscriber based on the average rating point/station over the last year (or 3 years or 2, whatever).
This would mean:
A) No blackouts.
B) Incentive to local broadcasters to have better programming (better programming = better ratings = more $$$)
I have always wondered about that myself. If a station or stations want to be difficult then, bring in another from a different DMA for a short period. If the stations realized this would happen they may not want to be so greedy. They hate the idea that someone in their DMA would watch an out of market station as they get no revenue.
Yes, I know most here would say it's easier to do away with retransmission. As
Tampa8 says, try holding your breath until that happens. So instead of coming up with unrealistic solutions, how about everyone compromise?