Well, again, think of it from Charlie's perspective: he's got a grand plan that depends on the successful launch of a number of satellites. Note I'm not saying that plan includes any significant national HD, but it is a plan. You've already experienced a launch failure and the first of the new satellites is scheduled to go up in March. If THIS rocket blows up then you don't know WHAT you'll do; you might have to rethink your entire strategy, change plans, marketing, etc. Why tie one hand behind your back now by committing transponders to channels you can't turn off? Let one or two of the satellites launch and you might be able to consider those transponders as actual spare capacity.
Again, this sounds a lot like the rationalizations posters use to convince themselves that the new channels will turn on at this or that particular point. I also think Charlie's already lost subscribers because of the lack of national HD, he just won't know it until next quarter. However, given the situation, I can see why he might not want to tie up ANY capacity until he knows what he's actually going to have this year.
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