V-iPod & the ABC affiliate revolt continued

We mentioned earlier how the ABC affiliates were taken off guard by Disney/ABC to let Apple sell ABC content on the cheap.

The WSJ today tells just how much this is heating up, reporting on a letter sent by upset affiliates to ABC:

The letter, a copy of which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, says: “It is both disappointing and unsettling that ABC would embark on a new — and competitive — network program distribution partnership without the fundamental courtesy of consultation” with its affiliates.

Mr. Long, who runs the ABC affiliate WXON in Biloxi, Miss., didn’t return calls seeking comment. Mr. Wallau said he would respond to the affiliates this week but declined to comment further.

For TV affiliates, Apple’s new offering “is really bad,” says Josh Bernoff, an analyst at Forrester Research in Cambridge, Mass. “You don’t get anything. You just get a smaller audience,” he says.