I have DNS NBC as a residential customer. I shouldn't, but I do. I only got it a couple years ago when my "moved" local affiliate changed stations and Directv messed up and gave the DNS to a couple people. I even had another NBC via SV on Directv (that station is now CW) so there is absolutely NO reason that I should have been given it, but I did. I am 99.999% sure that I am going to lose my DNS NBC. I would rather have DNS for all locals like back in the day so the affiliates are professional, proper stations... real HD, real 5.1 sound, properly inserted commercials so the program isn't cut off, news that is presented by people who can read a teleprompter and doesn't look like it came from a high school AV class...and having the NY stations is great when the locals are scrolling meaning tickers about snow and school cancellations. If the NY stations are tickering, then back to the locals if I must. I HATE my local VT stations, thank goodness I can "move" to southern VT and get Boston locals, and still have most of my true locals in HD with SV if I really need them. Plus I have OTA and AM21. I don't want to pay for something that sucks, so if I have to pay for locals, it better be something I don't already get for free. That's my 2¢ as to why someone would want the DNS stations. Many markets that are even smaller than VT have major networks as a subchannel that are "afterthought" channels that shouldn't even be considered actual affiliates they are put together so bad and are full of "paid programming" all the time.
STELAR Replacement included in Spending Bill
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Perfect illustration of what you describe... right now there is a "Winter Weather Advisory" for six counties in the northernmost mountain area of our TV market. This isn't a warning, or even a watch- just an advisory. There is a "chance" less than 1 inch of snow MIGHT develop. So from now until 7am tomorrow we get to watch an annoying weather scroll in the top corner of the screen. It never goes away, it stays the entire time until the "Advisory" expires. It comes complete with a pop-up map every few seconds too. The NY stations do occasionally do scrolls, but they are very few, and far between, and it has to be legitimately warranted before they leave it over programming for a long period of time.
What market is that?
They do that in Vermont, too. Shocking! It snows. In Vermont. The NBC in VT (which is off because it's Hearst, but that's a different story) will do the same exact thing you describe. They are not even HD all the time. The ABC/Fox sister channels will smush the screen for their gigantic tickers. Sometimes their scrolls go so fast no human could ever read them. And it could be snowing in central NH or northern NY, which is still our market, and we have to deal with that too. Nobody in NH watches VT channels for news, they all watch WMUR which they all get with SV so why bother?
I mostly use locals for sports and news if the news is watchable. Games are unwatchable with tickers. Games are not watchable when put on a SD subchannel because there is a thunderstorm warning in the summer in another state and they feel they have to show the radar over and over and over until the warning is over.
All games should be on cable channels if locals can't be trusted to show them properly. Most locals are terrible and those 12 markets are lucky that they have had the option for DNS this long. I hope they know the crap show they're getting into when they get poorly produced local channels forced on them by LIL.
