Local channel politics

[tony2tall]

No need to go over who gets local channels. My parents don't. An antenna will get them local ABC, PBS and nothing Could a large outcry (letter campaign to Senators & Representatives or whatever) from the public get legislation changed so viewers must not have far away stations crammed down their throats. Parents would like to have the next closest stations. Are the mega stations responsible for lobbying this legislation into place? I think this is another freedom we have lost. If a person is willing to pay for a channel let them have it. I realize the local stations are opposed. There must be a better solution

 

[cdru]

Are the mega stations responsible for lobbying this legislation into place?

Actually it's likely the exact opposite. Basically it all comes down to money. During sweeps week, local stations track their number of viewers. The more viewers they get, the more they can charge advertisers during the period following sweeps. Local stations want as many people watching their station as possible.

If distant networks were available, a significant number of people would likely subscribe to them instead of their locals, or at least in conjunction. This creates competition for the local station for the exact same programming. It's very likely that the station would lose local viewers who might watch the same programming on the distant network. Fewer viewers means they end up charging less for advertising, equating to lower revenues.

There are exceptions to this though. If you can't receive a quality signal OTA, do to environmental obstructions (mountains, valleys, etc), or distance, then you may qualify for distant networks. This is because the local station isn't "losing" a viewer as you couldn't view it anyways.

From the way you worded your question, you were wondering why you have to get say NY or LA distant channels as oppose to just the next DMA over? I can't really say for sure why. It's possible that it makes it easier for billing purposes. Also not all DMAs are available everywhere. Some locals are on spot beams so they may not be available reliably even in the next county over if they are right on the edge of the spot.

This whole process was recently up for review in Congress. A few changes were made so that significantly viewed stations from outside your market may become available.

 

[bcshields]

If you want to put up a major offense... do it with the stations you want on Dish that currently aren't. Here on the MD Eastern Shore we have 2 stations that aren't on Dish, and I've bombarded their website with emails asking what the holdup is.

That's where the effort needs to go.

 

[twillers]

If you want to put up a major offense... do it with the stations you want on Dish that currently aren't. Here on the MD Eastern Shore we have 2 stations that aren't on Dish, and I've bombarded their website with emails asking what the holdup is.

That's where the effort needs to go.

I live on the east coast also. What 2 channels don't we get?

 

[tony2tall]

"From the way you worded your question, you were wondering why you have to get say NY or LA distant channels as oppose to just the next DMA over?"
Thats the beef I have. I would rather have my own State news than some state 1,000 miles away.

 

[bcshields]

WBOC 16 and WMDT 47.. if you live in Lower Eastern Shore Maryland and Sussex County, Delaware, your only local options are Distant Fox and NBC.

 

[nitstalker]

16, and 47... you mean crappy picture and even crappier picture?

Lets face it... they should PAY us to get cbs and abc

LOL

 

[twillers]

WBOC 16 and WMDT 47.. if you live in Lower Eastern Shore Maryland and Sussex County, Delaware, your only local options are Distant Fox and NBC.

Being your as close to Dewy Beach, and Ocean City as you are, you could always go there for the locals. The eye candy is always nice to watch in the summer. Or there's always Rehoboth beach if you like that sort of place.

I guess I'm spoiled because I've always had the NY locals, because I live on Long Island. It really isn't fair. You can't qualify to get them in Delaware?

 

[bcshields]

I personally don't care if those two channels fall off the face of the earth.. but these old folk are loyal to their crappy picture. To them it's all they've ever known... but don't get me started on that topic.

Ocean City is only 20 minutes from where I work. I can't wait to install dishes in those areas this summer.

 

[carload]

If distant networks were available, a significant number of people would likely subscribe to them instead of their locals, or at least in conjunction. This creates competition for the local station for the exact same programming. It's very likely that the station would lose local viewers who might watch the same programming on the distant network.

That's the National Association of Broadcasters' perspective, and it's correct as far as it goes. But it leaves out the other side of the equation -- That local station would become available as a "distant" station to viewers elsewhere. Which means that a well-run, popular station could easily gain as many viewers as it lost locally plus gain the royalty revenues from all those distant subscribers.

For local stations, there are three big downsides to this plan. First, some local advertisers simply don't care if someone in another time zone watches their ads; you can't make a restaurant (for example) inviting enough to lure diners from a thousand miles away. Second, it would be tougher to measure a far-flung audience, although I think an audit of distant subscriber revenue ought to at least suggest how many out-of-marker viewers to add. Finally, and of great importance to a significant number of stations, poorly-run network repeaters would both lose their local monopolies and fail to attract many out-of-area viewers.