Why All the Local HD Channels?
- Thread starter impeyr
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though you are right, it WOULD be a much more efficient use of bandwidth to have national feeds, but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.
Its about money, as usual.
Even during the nationally broadcast shows you mention, local network affiliates carry local advertising (as well as some nationally broadcast commercials, of which presumably they get some cut).
Local stations therefore don't want people only getting a national feed off a sat that reduces their number of viewers for ratings, and therefore advertising revenue.
And since the NAB is powerful, they have lobbied hard for the FCC to enforce regulations that mean that if satellite companies want to show network programming then they have to carry the local content for each DMA they serve.
You're right. It makes it extremely expensive in terms of bandwidth to broadcast all the local stations, but spot-beams mean the same frequencies can be used for multiple areas of the country.
CDH.
what is Fox Widescreen? I noticed that on American Idol lastnight - and I had to zoom my screen, and in weeks past it was in full screen hd!! What gives?
AI was in full HD last night, maybe your affilate messed up the feed
Direct still does this. We can get DNS from LA or NY if you live in an area in which Direct does not carry you locals.
Yeah, the whole DMA thing should just be thrown in the trash. Offer local channels with news and information for those that want it, but move NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, The CW, MNT, and PBS to national HD feeds. Charge a fee for those channels just like everything else. Pass along a portion of those fees to support one or more local news broadcast channels in each area.
This doesn't address the independent stations that bigger markets offer, but hell, if you dropped the networks down to a single (or even cover all four timezones, one feed for each, available to all that subscribe), you could still keep those independent stations on the satellites and you'd be swimming in bandwidth.
This doesn't address the independent stations that bigger markets offer, but hell, if you dropped the networks down to a single (or even cover all four timezones, one feed for each, available to all that subscribe), you could still keep those independent stations on the satellites and you'd be swimming in bandwidth.
Yes, and if you live in an area that's eligible, you can get the HD channels for those as well. Fox HD is not available where I live (just digital, no HD, don't get me started), so with D*, I could get Fox HD out of New York in addition to my Fox SD channel as part of my locals.
IIRC, it's not that D* doesn't carry them, it's that you can't receive a grade B signal via an OTA antenna. You can plug in your address at Enter Address to see if you qualify for any DNS stations.
You better believe that what E* is adding in local HD is being done for E*'s bottom line. They are using available spotbeam tps to the greatest efficiency level. D* is looking at markets that E* has opened up that they don't have yet. This puts them in a position of being #2. That's a position that they don't want to be in. Be patient....nat'l will come.......SOON
Impeyr,
Auugh, NO.
Each Local DMA (Designated Market Area) has several local stations that have affiliation agreements with the National broadcast networks. Under this agreement each local market affiliate has exclusive rights to YOUR eyeballs. This means no other network nor any other third party provider can provide you with this content from any other affiliate or from any other DMA's affiliate PERIOD. With that said each local market affiliate gets a specific number of minutes per hour of Network programing to run their OWN commercials. Since almost all TV stations and networks depend on this revenue to exist and the NAB is one of the most lobbies in the country this system of distribution is NOT going to change, like it or not.
Since most Cable/satellite subscribers MUST have OTA Network broadcasts included with their service no provider is going to get enough subs without carrying all the Affiliates in each DMA they serve to stay profitable.
John
If it were allowed, I've always wondered if they could share bandwidth by using one channel/stream (or whatever it's called) and carry each station's logo, weather map, etc... in another part of the same (shared) stream.
But you'd still have to figure out what to do with commercials. or daytime programming or other programming differences.
I don't really know enough if this would even make sense to do.
I would give up about 90% of the national HD that's available if I could get local HD channels.
We watch several shows on local channels, and would get much more good out of our HD if the locals were HD.
I'm glad we just got CNN added, and would really like to have Speed in HD.
The local stations complained to the FCC, because they were worried that if National feeds could be sold in their DMA, that eventually they would go out of business. Which is a great idea, since very few people get stations via an antenna. 90% or more people get their locals thru cable or satillite. We do not need local broadcast stations. Give us our network feeds nationally and let people read the newspaper for local news. But because of politics, we will never see this.
I don’t agree with that. Local channels are critical; without access to local news and events, Dish would be in a bad way. I am now beginning to understand the politics, and in a way even agree with it. All locals should be available on satellite. However, surely for most locals SD is good enough, and hopefully some common sense would suggest that since bandwidth is not infinite not all channels should be given HD slots.
I have to disagree. Locals provide programming that appeals to the masses from their network affiliation. Most people watch the "Big 4" regularly for prime time and sports events. That is what I want to see HD in the MOST....
It comes down to copyrights. Just like you can't get a franchise to open a McDonalds next door to an existing one by another operator, you can't bring in signals that do not have the copyright of the local franchise (affiliate) owner. Of course, it doen't work exactly like this, but the example works.
