Cleveland locals in HD

[tomyo10]

I got tired of communicating with Dish concerning the lack of Cleveland locals in HD.

So I thought I'd try another POV by contacting one of the Cleveland locals directly.

FWIW-

My question:

"I was wondering if someone could answer a question for me.

The Cleveland market now the largest DMA in the country that is not broadcast in HD by Dish Network.

I have contacted Dish several times concerning this, and all they can tell me is that Cleveland is not in their plans currently.

It could be a space problem for Dish, or it could be a contractual roadblock for both Dish and the Cleveland locals.

I was wondering if you could shed any light on the subject from the affiliate's point of view."

Their response:

"Thank you for writing. Unfortunately we cannot shed any light on the situation. DirecTV and all of the major cable systems are carrying our HD signal (which of course is also available free over the air). I do not know what DISH Network's problem is."

Doesn't sound like a helluva lot of communication between Dish & the affiliates to me.

 

[Hall]

This part of their response, "Unfortunately we cannot shed any light on the situation", suggests to me that this person may not know any hard details. If they responded with "Dish has informed us that they have capacity problems and have put new carriage talks on hold", it would be more believable or if they said "we've been in talks with Dish but can't come to an agreement", that would also be more believable.

 

[tomyo10]

the line that bothers me is "I do not know what DISH Network's problem is."

My email went to their programming department, so I'm thinking the guy knew something about the situation.

 

[KAB]

Who (what position) was the person you talked to?

 

[tomyo10]

Who (what position) was the person you talked to?

I don't know exactly. It was an email directly to the station's programming department.

 

[Hall]

the line that bothers me is "I do not know what DISH Network's problem is."

First, that sounds very unprofessional and second, they should know something, but this person doesn't. He/she should know if Dish simply hasn't initiated talks, if the talks broke down, if they're still in progress, etc, etc.

 

[Hall]

I don't know exactly. It was an email directly to the station's programming department.

Almost every e-mail I receive from someone that's business related has a "signature" in their e-mail that includes their name, title, phone #, etc, etc. Did this one not ?? The person could of course have removed it (for various reasons).

 

[tomyo10]

Almost every e-mail I receive from someone that's business related has a "signature" in their e-mail that includes their name, title, phone #, etc, etc. Did this one not ?? The person could of course have removed it (for various reasons).

Of course he has a name. I just chose not to put it in my post. He's in the programming department of one of the local affiliates in Cleveland.

 

[KAB]

Get in touch with the station's General Manager.

 

[TulsaCoker]

Of course the problem is with Dish. Every other provider carries them so it's Dish not either having the capacity or desire to carry them. Communicating with the station will not shed any light on the issue. Only Dish Network can.

 

[KAB]

Communicating with the station will not shed any light on the issue. Only Dish Network can.

Any info would be appreciated by the OP. Going to the station and the RIGHT PERSON can shed light on the many theories and conflicting stories. It takes two to tango, so lets at least get one dancer to talk.

 

[tomyo10]

Any info would be appreciated by the OP. Going to the station and the RIGHT PERSON can shed light on the many theories and conflicting stories. It takes two to tango, so lets at least get one dancer to talk.

Well, doing a little research, it seems that the person who answered my email is the program director at one of the local Cleveland stations.

 

[TulsaCoker]

Any info would be appreciated by the OP. Going to the station and the RIGHT PERSON can shed light on the many theories and conflicting stories. It takes two to tango, so lets at least get one dancer to talk.

Correct, however, if every other provider has agreements and carry the HD channels then you know it not because of them it's Dish. Unless Dish want's to
pay (if any) less then cable and DirecTV. If it was one channel then I can see going to the station but that's not the case here.

 

[Poke]

Yes it can shed light on the issue if you communicate with your local stations! Its just not on Dish end to carry the locals in HD. Both parties must come to agreements so forth to get things up and running so you can not always pass the buck to Dish it does not always work that way.

 

[KAB]

Well, doing a little research, it seems that the person who answered my email is the program director at one of the local Cleveland stations.

I need to make this clear, having worked with local TV station, "program directors are third tier management. Go for the GM.

 

[tomyo10]

I sent another email:

"Gary-
can you divulge if Dish has even been in contact with you about carrying your station in HD?

I just read they are supposed to launch 2 more sats in hopes to beat Direct TV to the punch for the most HD channels. It seems obvious they should go after the largest DMA on the list first."

His response:

"I have had no contact from them so that's the only information I can provide."

Maybe I'll try to contact the GM next.