Federal law prohibits satellite carriers (this DOES NOT include cable providers, fair huh?) from distributing local affiliates signals outside the local "Metro" area, as defined by Nielsen Market Research (aka DMA). Example: In Kansas City, the "Metro" area is Platte, Clay, Ray, Jackson, Lafayette and Cass counties in Missouri and Leavenworth, Wyandotte, Johnson and Miami counties in Kansas. If you do not reside in one of these counties, you will not qualify for "Local-to-local" satellite service from the Kansas City market.
Waiver Requests
A "Waiver" provides a viewer the option to receive national network signals, but only if the viewer's location is determined to be an "Unserved household." Unserved means the strength of our signal at your home is below a defined threshold, Grade-B (see signal tests below). Unserved households are virtually all outside the "Metro" area. (this is pure THEORY, as they do not have test data for all "served" homes claimed in their DMA)
The new law requires that all waiver requests must be submitted to the subscriber's satellite carrier. Your affiliate will usually process them in a batch format, in the order that they are submitted from the satellite carriers, usually only once or maybe twice a week; sometime once per month. Local stations are forbidden from considering waiver requests from individual viewers. Do not send your waiver request to a local affiliate.
The new law does not change the Grade-B intensity benchmark for defining an "unserved household." (another joke considering this theoretical signal strength was blown out of the water as not being remotely close to accurate.)
Signal Tests
The following is courtesy of the National Association of Broadcasters: "A subscriber who has been denied a waiver may ask their satellite carrier for a signal test. Tests are to be conducted by a neutral third party chosen by agreement of the satellite carrier and the TV station (using the method described in FCC rules Section 73.686(d)). If the carrier and station cannot agree on a tester, the FCC is directed to set up procedures for designating neutral testers. The statute provides that tests are to be conducted on a loser-pays basis. The FCC is to issue regulations to ensure that no party suffers any undue burden as a result of the testing provisions. The methodology for actually conducting tests under the FCC's rules (Section 74.686(d)) does not change.
Section 73.686(d), as adopted in CS Docket 98-201, requires that the SHVA measurement method include at least five separate measurements to be taken in a cluster as close as possible to the viewer's receiving antenna. Each of these measurements must be at least 3 meters from the others, and the median of these measurements is the value to be used for the field strength available at the site. If the viewer does not have an outdoor antenna, then the measurements should be taken as close as possible to a "reasonable and likely spot for the receiving antenna" outside the house.
At each test point the field strength of the visual carrier should be measured with a calibrated instrument that has a bandwidth of at least 450 kHz, but no greater than 1 MHz. The test antenna must be a standard half-wave dipole tuned to the visual carrier frequency of the channel being measured. When measurements are being performed for a one-story building, the test antenna should be 20 feet above ground. When measurements are being performed for buildings taller than one story, the test antenna must be 30 feet above ground. The antenna must be oriented in the direction that maximizes the received field strength for the signal being measured. Tests are not to be conducted during inclement weather or when major weather fronts are moving through the measurement area because these events may noticeably impact television reception. (this is funny because we NEVER watch TV during inclement weather, do we?)
Also, a written record of the tests must be produced."
Waiver Requests
A "Waiver" provides a viewer the option to receive national network signals, but only if the viewer's location is determined to be an "Unserved household." Unserved means the strength of our signal at your home is below a defined threshold, Grade-B (see signal tests below). Unserved households are virtually all outside the "Metro" area. (this is pure THEORY, as they do not have test data for all "served" homes claimed in their DMA)
The new law requires that all waiver requests must be submitted to the subscriber's satellite carrier. Your affiliate will usually process them in a batch format, in the order that they are submitted from the satellite carriers, usually only once or maybe twice a week; sometime once per month. Local stations are forbidden from considering waiver requests from individual viewers. Do not send your waiver request to a local affiliate.
The new law does not change the Grade-B intensity benchmark for defining an "unserved household." (another joke considering this theoretical signal strength was blown out of the water as not being remotely close to accurate.)
Signal Tests
The following is courtesy of the National Association of Broadcasters: "A subscriber who has been denied a waiver may ask their satellite carrier for a signal test. Tests are to be conducted by a neutral third party chosen by agreement of the satellite carrier and the TV station (using the method described in FCC rules Section 73.686(d)). If the carrier and station cannot agree on a tester, the FCC is directed to set up procedures for designating neutral testers. The statute provides that tests are to be conducted on a loser-pays basis. The FCC is to issue regulations to ensure that no party suffers any undue burden as a result of the testing provisions. The methodology for actually conducting tests under the FCC's rules (Section 74.686(d)) does not change.
Section 73.686(d), as adopted in CS Docket 98-201, requires that the SHVA measurement method include at least five separate measurements to be taken in a cluster as close as possible to the viewer's receiving antenna. Each of these measurements must be at least 3 meters from the others, and the median of these measurements is the value to be used for the field strength available at the site. If the viewer does not have an outdoor antenna, then the measurements should be taken as close as possible to a "reasonable and likely spot for the receiving antenna" outside the house.
At each test point the field strength of the visual carrier should be measured with a calibrated instrument that has a bandwidth of at least 450 kHz, but no greater than 1 MHz. The test antenna must be a standard half-wave dipole tuned to the visual carrier frequency of the channel being measured. When measurements are being performed for a one-story building, the test antenna should be 20 feet above ground. When measurements are being performed for buildings taller than one story, the test antenna must be 30 feet above ground. The antenna must be oriented in the direction that maximizes the received field strength for the signal being measured. Tests are not to be conducted during inclement weather or when major weather fronts are moving through the measurement area because these events may noticeably impact television reception. (this is funny because we NEVER watch TV during inclement weather, do we?)
Also, a written record of the tests must be produced."
