Call and sign up for DirecTV would be my suggestion. You'd be a new customer and would probably get a lot of the newer hardware and could probably get NFL Sunday Ticket for free (if that's your thing).
That said, DirecTV isn't innocent of this type of situation either as they lost KCRG for about 3 months earlier in the year. And these cable companies wonder why people get fed up and cut the cord. Something else that I heard work for those that lost KCRG was to call DirecTV and petition for a non-local feed of that channel. Maybe Dish has that available. Doesn't help if you like watching KGAN news or FOX local news but you'd get all of the national shows.
If you want to keep Dish I would most certainly be calling and bitching to them, never hurts to see what you can get for free. As far as the antenna question, it all depends where you live in the state. Bagdropper is usually pretty knowledgeable with those type of questions. Maybe PM him.
