[Mark was here]

Why does a "local" station have a say any way?

If you bought a book out of state, and brought it in state, would you have to pay the local book store a royalty fee before you read it? This is not a perfect analogy but I think it is like what the locals are asking for.

[BigSkyFreeper]

I know, it is goofy, and 9 times out of 10 the government doesn't know what the hell it's doing and mucks things up trying to find a solution.

[kevkrom]

Why does a "local" station have a say any way? If you bought a book out of state, and brought it in state, would you have to pay the local book store a royalty fee before you read it? This is not a perfect analogy but I think it is like what the locals are asking for.

Because their affiliation deal with the networks are based on the premise of exclusivity. As far as I understand it, the deal essentially is:

• Networks provide content to affiliates that is exclusive within their market
• Affiliates run network's ads as well as their own during network programs

Now, if a third party comes along, like Dish Network, and essentially puts the networks in violation of their part of the deal by providing a different feed of supposedly exclusive material, then the affiliates should have some legal recourse to fix the situation.

This is one time where I think the regulatory side has got things pretty close to right. They've established rules that say when people qualify for "distant markets" that balance the demands of consumers and the providers about as well as possibile.

[George W. Bush]

Why does a "local" station have a say any way?

They 'own' you because you live in their territory.