Why doesn't DTV have superstations?

[Sori4mvp]

I love every aspect of DTV, obviously there are many things you can get on it that you can't get elsewhere. They have a lot of exclusive rights especially with the sports which is why I'm a loyal customer. I had C Band back in the day and briefly had DISH and with those two you can get the Superstations such as WPIX, WWOR, KTLA and WSBK; I was just curious as to why DTV never tapped into this market. I'm going to guess Dish has exclusive rights?

 

[vurbano]

D* isnt going to air anything extra for narmal viewers until they can find a way to charge extra for it. We still only have 2 HD HBO channels but yet sports channels get added because they can justify a price increase to their special packages.

 

[MLBurks]

Dish does not have exclusive rights. DirecTV has never expressed interest in carrying them.

 

[nte5150]

D* isnt going to air anything extra for narmal viewers until they can find a way to charge extra for it. We still only have 2 HD HBO channels but yet sports channels get added because they can justify a price increase to their special packages.

that cant be the reason,dish doesnt provide superstations for free,they cost something like $6.00 for all or about $1.50 each

 

[bobvick]

Except for the sports that these stations have on from time to time, there is no compelling reason for DirecTV to offer them. They have the same shows that are on CW & MyNet stations throughout the USA, for example in my home market Birmingham, WTTO the CW affiliate plays most of the same shows that WPIX, KWGN, and KTLA do.
I can also remember these superstations on C-Band, when they were really "super" back then you could get WSBK, WPIX, KTLA, KTVT, KWGN, and WWOR they had lots of movies, and television shows that you didn't find any where else. I can remember that every Sunday, WSBK would have the "3 Stooges" on for 2 or 3 hours.

 

[MLBurks]

I can also remember these superstations on C-Band, when they were really "super" back then you could get WSBK, WPIX, KTLA, KTVT, KWGN, and WWOR they had lots of movies, and television shows that you didn't find any where else. I can remember that every Sunday, WSBK would have the "3 Stooges" on for 2 or 3 hours.

Ah, those were the days. I really do miss them. Sadly, the programming on those channels (especially KTLA which I grew up watching) has gone down the pop culture toilet.

 

[paulman182]

I think part of the reason is Charlie Ergen's C-band background. He has had a tendency to keep his company more similar to the way business was done in the C-band days than DirecTV has.

 

[DodgerKing]

The main reason is because there is not the demand or need to offset the cost. Seriously, why would someone pay extra to see a local station from another part of the country that either shows news they are not interested in, blackouts pro sports games, or shows the same syndicated programming they get on their own local stations? It is the biggest waste of money IMO.

 

[Kheldar]

The main reason is because there is not the demand or need to offset the cost. Seriously, why would someone pay extra to see a local station from another part of the country that either shows news they are not interested in, blackouts pro sports games, or shows the same syndicated programming they get on their own local stations? It is the biggest waste of money IMO.

Of the 5 superstations DishNet offers, 3 are CW affiliates, 1 is MyNetworkTV, and 1 is still independent.

For the CW & MyNetwork affiliated superstations, if there is a local affiliated station that objects, then DishNet must black out any overlapping programming.

Then, of course, a large portion of the sports content is blacked out.

So, essentially the only content that would be available would be the local news broadcasts (which, granted, might be of interest to people that used to live there) and the shows that aren't overlapped by their local affiliate, which is most likely reruns of old shows anyway.

IMO, a pointless waste of money.

The one non-affiliated superstation might be the one exception. But, if it isn't network-affiliated, just add it to the base packages like WGN America and offer it nationwide.

 

[tpicciani]

Being a recent convert from Comcast, I have seen a number of things I like a a few I don't. I do like the extra HD channels. There are a lot more on DTV and they're arranged in a way that you don't have to look in a separate area for them. DTV allows you to choose the HD version and block out the SD ones.

I think DTV lacks in local channels and even more so in the On Demand free items. On Comcast I got a lot of popular movies for free, such as Cars, Ratatouille and Happy Feet for free. On DTV these cost $2-3 each. Also, on demand was available immediately rather than a half hour later. Being somewhat of an impulse viewer, I don't like waiting for something I want to see. I usually move on.

IMHO, if DTV wants to improve their base, they need to look into these items to improve their competitiveness, even if they can't make money directly from those features.

Tom P.

 

[nte5150]

Of the 5 superstations DishNet offers, 3 are CW affiliates, 1 is MyNetworkTV, and 1 is still independent.

For the CW & MyNetwork affiliated superstations, if there is a local affiliated station that objects, then DishNet must black out any overlapping programming.

Then, of course, a large portion of the sports content is blacked out.

So, essentially the only content that would be available would be the local news broadcasts (which, granted, might be of interest to people that used to live there) and the shows that aren't overlapped by their local affiliate, which is most likely reruns of old shows anyway.

IMO, a pointless waste of money.

The one non-affiliated superstation might be the one exception. But, if it isn't network-affiliated, just add it to the base packages like WGN America and offer it nationwide.

i dont't know about sports blackouts. i remember watching mets on wpix and yankees on wwor and they wernt blacked out.maybe something has changed since then. directv carries cw washington as a dns feed and they dont black out the nba washington wizzards the few times a season they show it.

 

[ScottChez]

Sure wish, they could ad HD superstations.

Dish has SD super stations at $6 per month. DirecTV must be afraid to carry em.

 

[jcrandall]

One key, bandwith, they still have very limited bandwith for SD on the 101 sat.
Even if HD, adding these stations for $5 or so, I personally believe there would be little interest to justify the bandwith.

 

[SamCdbs]

Of the 5 superstations DishNet offers, 3 are CW affiliates, 1 is MyNetworkTV, and 1 is still independent.

For the CW & MyNetwork affiliated superstations, if there is a local affiliated station that objects, then DishNet must black out any overlapping programming.

Then, of course, a large portion of the sports content is blacked out.

So, essentially the only content that would be available would be the local news broadcasts (which, granted, might be of interest to people that used to live there) and the shows that aren't overlapped by their local affiliate, which is most likely reruns of old shows anyway.

IMO, a pointless waste of money.

The one non-affiliated superstation might be the one exception. But, if it isn't network-affiliated, just add it to the base packages like WGN America and offer it nationwide.

Excelent post.

The only thing I could add to that was that, back in the day, DirecTV was quite concerned about customers getting "free" baseball, on the theory that if people got their local team(s) (via local RSN), Braves (via TBS), Cubs and White Sox (via WGN), Red Sox (via WSBK), and Mets (via WPIX), they might decide this was "enough" baseball and not buy MLBEI.

 

[Jimbo]

Excelent post.

The only thing I could add to that was that, back in the day, DirecTV was quite concerned about customers getting "free" baseball, on the theory that if people got their local team(s) (via local RSN), Braves (via TBS), Cubs and White Sox (via WGN), Red Sox (via WSBK), and Mets (via WPIX), they might decide this was "enough" baseball and not buy MLBEI.

Also a good post

Jimbo

 

[Jimbo]

Being a recent convert from Comcast, I have seen a number of things I like a a few I don't. I do like the extra HD channels. There are a lot more on DTV and they're arranged in a way that you don't have to look in a separate area for them. DTV allows you to choose the HD version and block out the SD ones.

I think DTV lacks in local channels and even more so in the On Demand free items. On Comcast I got a lot of popular movies for free, such as Cars, Ratatouille and Happy Feet for free. On DTV these cost $2-3 each. Also, on demand was available immediately rather than a half hour later. Being somewhat of an impulse viewer, I don't like waiting for something I want to see. I usually move on.

IMHO, if DTV wants to improve their base, they need to look into these items to improve their competitiveness, even if they can't make money directly from those features.

Tom P.

Tom,
D* is actually doing what they can to get locals into your home, have been for several years, most SD are there and HD still working on.
You have to remember that locals is a HUGE accomplishment when you consider that your local cable company only covers a small part of the country, while D* has to cover the entire country to satisfy everyone ... then again, your never gonna satisfy everyone.

Jimbo