David Smith (and Sinclair) like to make money. Just like Charlie Ergen, he's pissed off a lot of people by sticking to his guns and playing "chicken" in his negotiations. Understand that there's a lot of money at stake in retransmission deals. TV stations watch from the sidelines while cable networks strike deals for $2-3 per subscriber per month for a couple of hours a month of "must see" programming (i.e. ESPN). With the market price for programming growing every year, Sinclair has no reason why they should accept "what Charter pays to other stations" unless Sinclair's content is no more valuable than the content on the other stations. However, that content isn't just measured as gross rating points or average ratings, it's also measured by the amount of "must see" content.
For what it's worth, the management of Sinclair treats their employees with the same amount of respect as it treats its viewers. One of the reasons I don't work there anymore.
For what it's worth, the management of Sinclair treats their employees with the same amount of respect as it treats its viewers. One of the reasons I don't work there anymore.
