I hope this does not kill what possible subchannels I could get in the future.

[localclassictvfan]

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/91163/fate-of-ota-tv-hangs-in-the-balance-in-2016

 

[navychop]

Sadly, it seems to be a matter of when, not if, OTA gets devastated.

Make no mistake about it, ATSC will bring us NOTHING. It will just allow cell companies to grab more spectrum, and OTA will double and triple up and we will have fewer channels and sub channels, plus ALL of our current tuners will be toast. Dish OTA dongles, DTV PAL DVRs, OTA tuners built in to older Dish receivers, TIVOs, all existing TV sets. And it goes on and on.

 

[FaT Air]

I like the part

If all goes according to plan, in the incentive auction the FCC will buy a big swath of TV spectrum and sell it to wireless broadband companies. In the process, it will eliminate as many as 400 full-power TV stations that choose to sell or double up on other channels.

I don't think the FCC will buy, or has bought, any channels/frequencies. (IMHO)They commandeered it, and sold it to the highest bidder. The highest bidders, having the most $$ available for such a purpose, that being the cell companies.
I suppose, for those that live on their cellphones (I know of more than just a few), there is a need for more bandwidth. And therefore more spectrum.
OTA is also just a key click or 2 from being encrypted. I can see this used as an economic effort to be/remain profitable.

 

[localclassictvfan]

So I guess in March we'll see what we might lose or keep

 

[Trip]

I like the part I don't think the FCC will buy, or has bought, any channels/frequencies. (IMHO)They commandeered it, and sold it to the highest bidder. The highest bidders, having the most $$ available for such a purpose, that being the cell companies.

The FCC is acting as a broker, almost, in this case. The FCC is technically buying the spectrum, but the money it's using to pay for it comes directly from the wireless companies and the spectrum will be sold immediately to them.

- Trip

 

[RONZ]

In Michigan there are three stations so far looking to be chopped

WADL in Detroit ind
WKAR in E Lansing PBS owned by MSU
WDCU in Bay City PBS owned by Delta College

There are currently no big 4 stations in the state looking to move or shutdown at this time

 

[Blindowl1234]

I don't see any big network affiliated stations going away too soon. It's still profitable for them to be in business so why sell. If OTA 10 or 20 years down the road becomes a pay model....guess I'll quit watching tv lol.

 

[localclassictvfan]

Yes I kinda figured the full power bigger stations will stick around....The one's I was worried about has our Me, H&I, Antenna, and This...
KDCG-CD 22.1 H&I, 22.2 This
KXKW-LD 32.1 This TV Lafayette, 32.2 Antenna TV Acadiana
KLWB-DT 50.1 MeTV Acadiana, 50.2 (KDCG-CD) H&I.

I was told that the owner can cut them off, put them all on one station or keep them......I emailed them but had no word yet.

In my opinion maybe one of the stations we'll lose.....

 

[localclassictvfan]

http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/91240/auction-could-be-bonanza-for-small-stations

Another article on the March Air Waves. Maybe a saving grace...

 

[FaT Air]

I, humbly, stand corrected.

 

[Mr Tony]

I don't see any big network affiliated stations going away too soon. It's still profitable for them to be in business so why sell. If OTA 10 or 20 years down the road becomes a pay model....guess I'll quit watching tv lol.

same here. I can see in smaller markets maybe 2 stations team up and go on one RF station

 

[mikekohl]

For those blessed with high speed internet, Weigel will offer a cost effective package that contains all of their existing stations and more. That may not help a lot of folks in rural areas, but it will be an option that can be purchased with Roku and other devices.

 

[DRCars]

For those blessed with high speed internet, Weigel will offer a cost effective package that contains all of their existing stations and more. That may not help a lot of folks in rural areas, but it will be an option that can be purchased with Roku and other devices.

Not meaning to shoot the messenger here but ... Whoopi! That means we can now pay for what was free (advertiser supported) before and still watch commercials.

DRCars

 

[Tampa8]

Sadly, it seems to be a matter of when, not if, OTA gets devastated.

Make no mistake about it, ATSC will bring us NOTHING. It will just allow cell companies to grab more spectrum, and OTA will double and triple up and we will have fewer channels and sub channels, plus ALL of our current tuners will be toast. Dish OTA dongles, DTV PAL DVRs, OTA tuners built in to older Dish receivers, TIVOs, all existing TV sets. And it goes on and on.

Amen.

 

[Mr Tony]

For those blessed with high speed internet, Weigel will offer a cost effective package that contains all of their existing stations and more. That may not help a lot of folks in rural areas, but it will be an option that can be purchased with Roku and other devices.

that would be nice!

 

[jegrant]

I thought I had heard about Weigel doing this - are there any more details?

 

[Radioguy41]

Yeah, high speed Internet. I've heard of it. I just got DSL service the day before Christmas. It only took 12 years for Verizon to actuate the digital switching box they installed 1/2 mile from my house in 2003. I'm not holding my breath for anything faster any time soon.

 

[DRCars]

3 mb/s DSL is not that terrible to watch. With the h.264 codec that is used that is about like 6 mb/s MPEG2 (ATSC). Most sub-channels around here are 3 or less. Although, METV is running 4.5 mb/s.

Even at 1.5 mb/s with h.264 that would be as good as most sub-channels around here (which ain't saying much).

DRCars

 

[mikekohl]

I thought I had heard about Weigel doing this - are there any more details?

Sit back and wait...I'm sure it will be publicly announced when the idea goes mainstream.

 

[Mr Tony]

Sit back and wait...I'm sure it will be publicly announced when the idea goes mainstream.

good to know