Feeling the Pain In Wash. State

(RE: In Latest Retrans Beef, Dish Drops Fisher TV Stations, Dec. 18) My elderly mom lives in a “fringe” area and used to get over the air signal thru an old fashioned antenna on the roof. Now with the switch to digital signal, that arrangement doesn't work. So what she used to get for free, now she will have to pay for cable or satellite TV. So yesterday Dec. 17, I signed her up for Dish Network local channels package, it was the best deal, dollar-wise. She is on fixed income, of course. The only programs she likes to watch are the news and Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy!. WOF and Jeopardy! are on KOMO. That same evening, I'm watching KOMO news and an announcement comes on from a Dish Network exec, saying they will no longer show KOMO. Two out of three shows my mom watches are no longer available to her! What a disaster!

Ann Magallanes
Redmond, Wash.

Back to the '50s For Basic Dramas

(RE: “NBC's Leno Move Could Turn 10 p.m. Into Cable's Sweet Spot,” Dec. 12) You know what I'd really like to see on cable at 10 o'clock? Fewer commercials. Bring back the one sponsor 1950's style program: “The Closer Kraft Showcase.” Calling these dramas hour shows is a big laugh. They are barely 40 minutes. Cable already gets a certain price per subscriber to be cleared by satellite and cable systems. you don't need 18 minutes of commercials with that.

Travis Medcalf
Frostburg, Md.

Missing Out On 'Monsters'

Darn! Monsters HD was great! (RE: Rainbow Pulls Plug on Voom HD Service, Dec. 18). I left Dish [Network] when they dropped Voom and kept hoping that the Voom HD channels would show up on DirecTV or even FiOS. I wonder how hard Rainbow Media tried to make other agreements work? Or were they afraid of undercutting their litigation with Dish? I think that if they had offered the channels individually then they would have had more success.

Tim Grimm
Seattle