1st off, Local stations demanding payments for programming is crazy talk!! If they actually follow through and pull the plug on the feed to the local cable operator, they would in effect be cutting their own necks. The Local ABC, CBS, or NBC station would be out of business within 3 years. Here's why:
Local OTA broadcasters make 100% of their revenue by SELLING ADVERTISING. Fewer Arbitron reporting viewers mean loss of market share/total viewers. The local ABC has to sell ad-spots for less. He can no longer sell a 30-sec spot for $110 bucks but now has to drop his price significantly. In the long run, this downward spiral will close the ABC doors in that market. No major broadcaster (ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox) can survive on using their land based antenna exclusively. They NEED Sat/Cable to spread their signal to keep the "Economy of Scale" in balance.
So go ahead ABC/NBC/CBS..... Try and blackmail Cable. Only you will lose in the end by your loss in viewers and your loss in advertising dollars. The last time I checked, the all-mighty-dollar is what you were interested in.
