KSFY News - Sioux Falls, SD News, Weather, SportsKSFY has been unable to reach an agreement with Golden West Communications

KSFY has been unable to reach an agreement with Golden West Communications

Attention Golden West customers:

Golden West's agreement with KSFY-TV, your local ABC affiliate, expired December 31, 2011.

We were unable to come to terms on a fair deal, and that the offer presented from Golden West was far lower than what we have received from most every other system we have a deal with.  It is our desire to continue to negotiate to reach a settlement and get KSFY back on the system. 

The current situation:

    * Negotiations with Golden West continued throughout the end of December and into early January. Both sides have negotiated in good faith towards a new agreement. Although we are currently at an impasse, we remain optimistic that we will reach a new deal for carriage of KSFY-ABC.

Golden West's final offer to KSFY remains significantly below what most other cable system have agreed to pay us in our television market.

We understand your frustration and appreciate your patience and support. Please continue to tell Golden West to negotiate a fair deal with KSFY-ABC on their system.

Customers with questions and concerns should call Golden West Communications at the following numbers:

    
    * Remember, other cable and satellite operators continue to provide KSFY-ABC, including Dish Network and DirecTV.  And we are always available free over the air with an antenna.


What are the facts?

    * The carriage terms we offered Golden West are consistent with what other operators pay broadcasters across the country, and reflects fair compensation for our programming.
      
    * Our offer to Golden West is consistent with agreements we have already reached with other cable operators in the market who recognize the value of the programming offered by our station.
      
     * KSFY's carriage agreement with Golden West expired on December 31, 2011. Both sides have been working hard to negotiate a new agreement.


What is the problem?

    * KSFY and Golden West are negotiating a new long-term carriage agreement. Golden West does not want to pay fair value for our programming.
      
    * KSFY offers some of the highest rated, most popular programming on Golden West's cable system.
      
    * In addition to local news and weather coverage that you count on, KSFY provides popular shows such as Ellen, Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy, and ABC's Prime Time lineup.

    * KSFY has offered Golden West very generous terms for carriage of its highly rated local television station. But Golden West has responded with a below market proposal that would pay KSFY far less than Golden West pays for much lower rated cable channels.


What can I do?

    * Tell Golden West to stop playing games, keep our station on its lineup, and finish negotiating with KSFY.  Golden West charges you a lot of money to watch your favorite television shows. It now refuses to include the best entertainment and news programming on television. Why should you pay top dollar for its service?
      
    * You can register a complaint by calling Golden West at

 
    * Other cable and satellite operators will continue to provide KSFY, including Dish Network (www.dishnetwork.com or 1-888-454-7936) and DirecTV (www.directv.com or 1-888-777-2454).
      
    * KSFY is available over the air with an antenna for free.

    * You can watch full episodes of ABC programs online for free right here.

    * You can watch our streaming newscasts here.

What is next?

    * We will continue to negotiate with Golden West and attempt to put in place a new agreement.
      
    * KSFY will continue to offer quality news, sports and entertainment programming that our viewers have come to expect.

Thank you for your patience during these negotiations.