The good news in the prolonged dispute between the guys who run the Spokane Fox affiliate (KAYU-TV) and DirecTV is the apparent desire to keep going until the matter is resolved.

Again on Friday we learned the two side have set another extension; it seems like the 32nd time but it's more like the sixth or seventh, in fact.

The two sides are contesting over the Retransmision Fee, the amount DirecTV pays to Northwest Broadcasting, for carrying the Fox signals into the homes of subscribers here in Eastern Washington. Northwest Broadcasting is also bargaining for a number of other Fox stations, in Yakima, Tri-Cities, Medford and in New York state.

The two sides hunkered down before the holidays, then had to deal with massive anger when NW required DirecTV to pull its Fox signal from Jan. 1 to just about the Super Bowl (which was being carried on Fox).

The sides say progress appears to be occurring. But no one offers a statement on the final issues separating the two sides.

And meanwhile, viewers must be wondering: will that blackout happen again?

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