Super Bowl Update

Gannett Co., which owns The Indianapolis Star, the Louisville Courier-Journal and St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK-5, today reported third quarter results that included record revenue and operating results for its broadcasting segment.

The company as a whole reported that its total operating revenues in the third quarter were 3.4% higher than the prior year and totaled $1.31 billion. TV revenues were up 38.1% to $233 million, compared to $168.8 million in 3Q2011. Approximately $4 million of political spending that aired during the Olympics is included in both the political and Olympic categories.

"Our TV stations leveraged top 10 ratings positions and a more locally focused sales effort to generate substantially higher Olympic spending," said Gracia Martore, Gannett's president and CEO. "Through strong ratings and a great footprint, they also maximized the opportunity to attract political spending."

UPDATE, 9:45 a.m.:  Just minutes ago, Dish Network and Gannett announced that they have reached a new, long-term contract for carriage of Gannett's stations on the satellite service.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

ABC News has (a few) more details here.

PREVIOUSLY: Shortly before the deadline to renew their carriage agreement on Sunday night, Gannett and Dish Network agreed to continue talking beyond the deadline and leave programming on for Dish's customers.

Among Gannett's TV stations affected by the negotiations is St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK-5.

In Southeastern Illinois, Wabash Independent Networks customers in Clay and Marion counties (including the communities of Flora and Xenia) would lose KSDK if Gannett pulls the station.  (WIN gets its signals via Dish.)

UPDATE, 5:05 p.m.:  Gannett says Auto Hop is NOT a factor in its negotiations with Dish.  Indeed, it's just about retransmission consent fees.  The company did point out that it's never had to pull its stations because a new deal couldn't be reached.  In a statement, the company said: "We remain committed to continuing to negotiate with Dish right up to that deadline and believe an agreement is possible, as we are seeking nothing more than the same market-based terms that have allowed us to reach deals with TV providers across the country."

PREVIOUSLY:  Gannett, which owns St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK-5, says it will pull its stations from Dish Network on Sunday when the companies' current agreement expires if Dish doesn't quit blocking commercials using its recently-introduced "Auto Hop" feature.

And that's not all, of course.  There is also the money question (i.e., the retransmission consent fee).  Dish, of course, says Gannett wants "more than a 300 percent rate increase," which is pretty much its standard line whenever these sorts of things happen.