The Charlie Chat Summary - June 8th, 2009

[James Long]

The Charlie Chat Summary - June 8th, 2009
Charlie Chat Hosted by
Charlie Ergen – CEO and Chairman
Jim DeFranco – Executive Vice President

Earth Cam
Channel 212 --- a live picture of earth from 22,000 miles away.
High res photos available at www.givetheworld.com .
Can't move the camera ... no zoom lens.

High Definition Programming
"More High Definition channels than anyone today"
Almost 140 channels.

Recent: Speed HD, MAV HD, FX HD, Logo HD, Fashion HD
MSNBC July 8th.

Recently Launched HD Markets
Ada, OK; Albany, GA; Bakersfield, CA; Baton Rouge, LA; Butte, MT; Cheyenne, WY; Chico, CA; Columbus, OH; Columbus-Tupelo, MS; Corpus Christi, TX; Duluth, MN;

Erie, PA; Eugene, OR; Fargo, ND; Ft Smith, AR; Gainsville, FL; Grand Junction, CO; Great Falls, MT; Idaho Falls, ID; Indianapolis, IN; Johnstown, PA;

Lafayette, LA; Medford, OR; Meridian, MS; Minot-Bismarck, ND; Missoula, MT; Monterey, CA; Montgomery, AL; Odessa, TX; Palm Springs, FL; Roanoke, VA;

Rockford, IL; Santa Barbara, CA; Sherman, TX; Sioux City, IA; Sioux Falls, SD; Terre Haute, IN; Tuscon, AZ; Twin Falls, ID; Yakima, WA; Youngstown, OH.

July 1st: Columbus, MS; Ft Wayne, IN; LaCrosse, WI; Larado, TX; Wausau, WI; Panama City, FL.
152 markets 93% of US TV Households.

SD Markets
Bend, OR; Lima, OH; Marquette, MI; Alexandria, LA.
Available July 8th or 22nd (estimated).

Digital Transition - Distant Networks
Missing local network channels.

Chicago and LA in HD ... San Fransisco and New York in SD.
Service for up to 10 TVs connected to DISH Network.

www.mydistantnetworks.com 1-800-979-0512
Not affiliated with DISH Network.

New qualifications effective Saturday June 13th.

Digital Transition - Other Services
No problems for DISH customers who have all TVs connected and subscribe to locals
DTVPals available as converter boxes.
Club DISH to refer your friends/relatives.
Entry level packages available.

Sports!
Baseball ...
Your regional sports network in Classic Bronze 100 Plus or add $5.99 to Classic Bronze 100
+ ESPN, WGN, FOX, TBS (in HD)

MLB Network and MLB Extra Innings not availabe due to cost added to everyone's package.

Boxing ...
Floyd Mayweather Jr vs Juan Manuel Marquez
July 18th - 9pm ET ... $49.95 SD; $59.95 HD
www.dishnetwork.com/boxing

College Football ...
ESPN Game Plan - Save $20 off regular season price
Early Bird Price: $115 or 3 x $38.34
Regular Season Price: $135 or 3 x $45
Sign up in July!
www.dishnetwork.com/football
Individual weekends $24/week

Pro Football ...
NFL Network in Classic Silver 200 package. Eight exclusive games.

Interview - Rich Eisen from NFL Network.

CMT Front Row - Exclusice
Only on DISH Network ... on channel 101 in HD.
This month - Darius Rucker
Tues, Thurs, Sun ... 10pm ET, 7pm PT

Contest! Win trip for two to Nasville for a taping later this summer.
Artist TBD.
Q: What is the name of Darius Rucker's first country number one single?
(Random selection of all correct answers at the end of the show.)
Contest rules http://www.dishnetwork.com/customerservice/broadcast

Questions
Email - Herb in Sandy Oregon misses ABC.
A: Weekly conversations with Fisher Communications. They have asked for something unreasonable.

Call - Paul from Arizona: Outdoor Channel, MTV2 and VH1 Classic in HD? Local PBS HD?
A: PBS via over the air. Trying to get a national feed but PBS is unwilling to do that.
VH1 Classic and MTV2 are not in HD today, we're working with Outdoor Channel.
Paladia HD is best of all MTV/VH1 channels.

Call - James from Eagle River, MI: ViP 922 DVR ... when will it be available?
A: Not before it's time. HD + internet. Just went into beta test this week. Not ready until fall.

Email - Joe: Canadian content on DISH?
A: We can't get the rights. You can get it via an off air antenna.

Call - Augustine: Puerto Rico ... when are new channels in HD?
A: No dates. The best channels available in HD. 27 new channels in August (8-10 weeks away).
New satellite the first of next year to improve service again.
(The footprint of the satellites do not cover Puerto Rico well ... new satellites do better.)

Interview - Dennis Leary and Rescue Me
Guest - Callie Thorne of Rescue Me
10pm Tuesday Night on FX

Contest Winner!
Q: What is the name of Darius Rucker's first country number one single?
A: "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
Kathy - Martinsville Virginia

Next Tech Forum ... August 10th, 2009 - 9pm ET Channel 101
Next Charlie Chat ... October 12th, 2008 - 9pm ET Channel 101

[Raymie]

WHAT is making Fisher's demands unreasonable?

[James Long]

WHAT is making Fisher's demands unreasonable?Some "thing" they are asking for that if DISH allowed it would affect negotiations nationwide.

I thought the Fishers standoff was over the lawsuit ... based on that description it is back to money. The original video explanation of the negotiations from DISH's side said Fishers was asking for way too much money. Charlie's comment tonight seemed to go back to that issue.

[Stewart Vernon]

Nice to see they gave a date for MSNBC (July 9th)... was hoping someone would ask about ESPNUHD and also if we would be getting BBCAmericaHD when that launches next month.

Was also wondering if "Paul" from Arizona was our Paul... but remembered our Paul is in CA.

[Nick]

Very well done, James. Thanks. :up:

[crrscott]

Great to see locals in Bend, OR........Time to start killing Bend Broadband....

[SayWhat?]

Pretty much like I said in the other thread.

HD, locals, HD, locals, HD, locals.

Nothing useful at all.

[ENDContra]

Call - Augustine: Puerto Rico ... when are new channels in HD?
A: No dates. The best channels available in HD. 27 new channels in August (8-10 weeks away).
New satellite the first of next year to improve service again.
(The footprint of the satellites do not cover Puerto Rico well ... new satellites do better.)

Is this specific to people in Puerto Rico? I have no idea if they have access to the same channels we have in the "mainland", but I cant think of 27 HD channels that Dish is missing.

[James Long]

Puerto Rico only gets a subset of the "140" channels that the US gets. Alaska and Hawaii have the same problem. The older satellite footprints don't serve them well.

E10 and E11 have decent footprints and special spotbeams. The next launch will expand the footprint at 119 and put a massive spot beam satellite there.

This is a case of Puerto Rico catching up with what the mainland has become complacent about. :)

[neljtorres]

Puerto Rico only gets a subset of the "140" channels that the US gets. Alaska and Hawaii have the same problem. The older satellite footprints don't serve them well.

E10 and E11 have decent footprints and special spotbeams. The next launch will expand the footprint at 119 and put a massive spot beam satellite there.

This is a case of Puerto Rico catching up with what the mainland has become complacent about. :)


thanks James!

[neljtorres]

Is this specific to people in Puerto Rico? I have no idea if they have access to the same channels we have in the "mainland", but I cant think of 27 HD channels that Dish is missing.


Here in Puerto Rico I can't get the HD from 61.5 I am getting and $10. package that only has usa HD, sci fi, espn, hdnet, hdtheather, hd movies and tnt now they are going to put more hd on the spotbeams. Rumors is that it will start on june 16

[BillJ]

Disappointed in the PBS HD answer. DTV offers local PBS HD in some markets. I was under the impression Dish would eventually do the same. Sounds like they aren't even trying.

[SayWhat?]

I reeeeeeeeeaaaallllly don't understand the obsession with HD.

[Deke Rivers]

I reeeeeeeeeaaaallllly don't understand the obsession with HD.

you still watch vhs tapes over dvd too?

[Richard King]

Thanks, James. Excellent work, as usual

[STL FAN]

So I've asked about this before but I want to ask again....from the summary above.....


Call - James from Eagle River, MI: ViP 922 DVR ... when will it be available?
A: Not before it's time. HD + internet. Just went into beta test this week. Not ready until fall.


...So I'll ask again, this receiver will have real internet capabilities...meaning, if I have MLB.TV I can wtch games through my receiver? I have been told no before, but if it has internet, why would this not work?

[turey22]

Pretty much like I said in the other thread.

HD, locals, HD, locals, HD, locals.

Nothing useful at all.

Like I've said before, a way to win customers over is by having their HD locals or just locals in general. Locals plays a large part to the New Customer, they may go with dish because they will provide the locals that DirecTV doesn't provide.

I've talk to about 3 people in my old town that have left DirecTV just because they don't have their locals.

[SayWhat?]

^^^^^ And like I said before, I see no reason to give Chucky another $5/mo for something I can get for free. Don't kid yourself, Chucky's only doing it for the money. If he couldn't charge for it, you wouldn't see locals at all.

[ziggy29]

Guess I shouldn't be surprised that there's no mention of "TiVo" in there...

[PRIME1]

First, thanks James for the great recap! Especially since I forgot the stupid thing....

Second, pretty boring Charlie chat. All I got out of it was that the 922 wouldn't be out until sometime this winter :grin:

[turey22]

^^^^^ And like I said before, I see no reason to give Chucky another $5/mo for something I can get for free. Don't kid yourself, Chucky's only doing it for the money. If he couldn't charge for it, you wouldn't see locals at all.

Aren't they all doing it for the money?

You have a point but then you have to see that charlie has to get paid for a service he is providing to the csutomer, which are locals.

[Richard King]

^^^^^ And like I said before, I see no reason to give Chucky another $5/mo for something I can get for free. Don't kid yourself, Chucky's only doing it for the money. If he couldn't charge for it, you wouldn't see locals at all.

Doh!! I think that money is probably the reason that he started the company and is also what keeps the company in business. He could give everything away for free, but I don't think the company would last too long. Do you do your job, whatever that might be, for free??? If not, why not???

By the way, I can't get my locals for free, so I, and all others in my situation are very pleased to have them on the satellite and available for $5 per month.

[Artorture]

I'm surprised their was no mention of the 922. I hope this means that the release date has not changed, from the previous Charlie Chat

[coldsteel]

Um...


Call - James from Eagle River, MI: ViP 922 DVR ... when will it be available?
A: Not before it's time. HD + internet. Just went into beta test this week. Not ready until fall.

[Cardini]

Nice recap, thank you.

I was happy to finally see a date for HD locals in LaCrosse, WI, listed.
How can I find out what Sat. they will show up on?

[Nick]

...Chucky's only doing it for the money. If he couldn't charge for it, you wouldn't see locals at all....and from that, are we to presume that you do your job for free, out of the kindness of your heart? If your boss didn't pay you, I'm sure he wouldn't see you at all.

It's one thing to be cynical and sarcastic, but hypocrisy is not sarcasm.

.

[phrelin]

Thanks, James, for your recap. I turned on my recording and went right to the "Distant Networks" discussion because I'm confused about how the "rules change" on Saturday.

I watched it. Then I went to the AAD web site. I still don't know how the distants rules change on Saturday, but they spent a great deal of time encouraging Fisher customers to call after Saturday. Are we "pushing the edge" here to gain bargaining power which might backfire in the long run hurting people who really do qualify for distants?:eek2:

Oh well, I'll let my sister know there's a chance she could get CBS after Saturday.

[Ohioankev]

SayWhat wrote on June 09th 2009 at 07:52 AM
I reeeeeeeeeaaaallllly don't understand the obsession with HD.

I used to be one of the anti - hd guys but now that I have my LG & a 722 I won't go back 100% to SD. Now I do record some programs and watch them in SD when I know i'm going to let them backlog and watch them whenever b/c it gets more time out of my DVR unit. Movies I record in HD all the time.


phrelin on June 09th 2009 at 2:00 PM EST

Thanks, James, for your recap. I turned on my recording and went right to the "Distant Networks" discussion because I'm confused about how the "rules change" on Saturday.

I watched it. Then I went to the AAD web site. I still don't know how the distants rules change on Saturday, but they spent a great deal of time encouraging Fisher customers to call after Saturday. Are we "pushing the edge" here to gain bargaining power which might backfire in the long run hurting people who really do qualify for distants?

Oh well, I'll let my sister know there's a chance she could get CBS after Saturday.

Yeah I couldn't even get an answer from AAD through a representive. This company gets on my nerves, terrible quality most of the time (upgraded in March but I still get artifacts on my screen on the NY FOX channel), terrible customer service. With this and the DVR situation ... I don't know I might drop TV altogether and switch to free internet tv, netflix, and pay per episode depending the TV program. I don't really want to leave DISH but if i'm do i'm going to look outside of the box for a while instead of a subscription based service.


Kevin:
What are the new qualifications for distants that take effect on June 13th 2009 ?

Welcome Kevin Your request has been directed to our Customer Service Department. Please wait for our operator to answer your call.

Call accepted by operator Becky. Currently in room: Kevin Harris, Becky.

Becky:
Hello Kevin, I would need your address to see if your eligible, and if your not I could submit a waiver for you

Kevin :

I already receive distants for ABC, CBS, and FOX am I in danger of losing some of these with the new qualifications ?

Becky:
Okay, give me just a moment to check

Becky:
Okay, I show that your eligible for ABC, CBS & Fox from New York and San Francisco at 3.49 per channel. We can also submit a waiver for NBC at no charge for the waiver, are you already installed with Dish Network?

Kevin :
you are misunderstanding my question I already get the three channels (ABC, CBS, FOX) through your company but during a Charlie Chat, Dish CEO said there were some new qualifications going into effect on June 13th 2009 indicating that I might lose some of the channels I currently recieve through you guys.

Becky:
Okay, give me just a moment to see if I can get that info

Kevin :
This is an excerpt from what he said on the chat ...

Kevin:
Digital Transition - Distant Networks
Missing local network channels.

Chicago and LA in HD ... San Fransisco and New York in SD.
Service for up to 10 TVs connected to DISH Network.

www.mydistantnetworks.com 1-800-979-0512
Not affiliated with DISH Network.

New qualifications effective Saturday June 13th.

Becky:
Thanks for waiting, after speaking with my supervisor..sorry we don't have any additional information as of right now

Kevin :
ok no problem, any information on when the HD channels will be up ?

Becky:
We haven't been informed with the info as of yet and unfortunately I will have to have you check back with us on Saturday... I'm sorry

Kevin :
ok no problem

Kevin :
thanks

Becky:
Is there anything else I can help you with today?

[Paul Secic]

Nice to see they gave a date for MSNBC (July 9th)... was hoping someone would ask about ESPNUHD and also if we would be getting BBCAmericaHD when that launches next month.

Was also wondering if "Paul" from Arizona was our Paul... but remembered our Paul is in CA.

It wasn't me. My speech is slurred due to Cerebral Palsy I have. Charle would think I was drunk, if I got by the screener somehow:lol::lol::lol::lol:

[Paul Secic]

I reeeeeeeeeaaaallllly don't understand the obsession with HD.

Once you see HD you'll hate SD. Trust me!

[turey22]

Once you see HD you'll hate SD. Trust me!

Lol, true story. I don't watch SD now, it must be in HD.

[Stewart Vernon]

It was a bit sobering to hear Charlie say he had been playing with a 922 over the weekend and that it wasn't ready yet... Usually the CEO is trying to get things out earlier than the Engineers... so if he's hedging and saying Fall, my gut says we might not see it until Christmas. :(

[scooper]

It is always a good idea to give them plenty of time to get the bugs out before it goes into general production - or even out to beta testers...

[Henry]

I think Charlie's learning that it's better to give approximate dates that can be met, than it is to give precise dates that will be missed. Encouraging.

[nmetro]

The answer to PBS approaches the level of unacceptable. I live in an area where receipt of the local PBS stations is impossible. The reason I subscribe to DiSH network was to get my local channels, and to get the HD version when available. The excuse of the connect get agreement with national PBS as a money issue makes me wonder, especially when we are talking about a channel paid for with our taxes.

[slowmoe]

Like I've said before, a way to win customers over is by having their HD locals or just locals in general. Locals plays a large part to the New Customer, they may go with dish because they will provide the locals that DirecTV doesn't provide.

I've talk to about 3 people in my old town that have left DirecTV just because they don't have their locals.

Funny that was #1 reason's I left E* for D*. Yes now E* has locals here in Vegas, took em long enough. I have no regrets what so ever:nono:.

[Stewart Vernon]

On the PBS front... Tax dollars pay for some of it, but local PBS stations also have their yearly pledge drives.

That's one of the big sticking points barring Dish from being able to carry a national PBS HD feed. ALL the local PBS stations would balk at this because no one would be watching their local feed, hence a drop in local donations.

Eventually there will be no choice but to carry PBS local HD feeds... and I'd think we'd see them sooner than later... but I suspect something is going on since we haven't seen any movement from Dish on this front, and DirecTV has really just gotten on the PBS HD bandwagon lately.

[James Long]

It is always a good idea to give them plenty of time to get the bugs out before it goes into general production - or even out to beta testers...Highlight that Charlie said that the 922 just went out to beta ... including with some retailers who are beta testing the machine. "You might be able to stop by a retailer and look one over." (Not an exact quote, but the concept is right.)

[BobaBird]

I was happy to finally see a date for HD locals in LaCrosse, WI, listed.
How can I find out what Sat. they will show up on?They'll be on 129°, ch 5260-5263. Info from the Uplink Activity threads and http://www.dishuser.org/129list.php .

[Beanie]

Woo hoo, Locals coming!

[dclaryjr]

was hoping someone would ask about ESPNUHD

Amen! College football isn't too far off and having ESPNU in HD would be a biggie!!

[Cardini]

They'll be on 129°, ch 5260-5263. Info from the Uplink Activity threads and http://www.dishuser.org/129list.php .

Thanks, that works out perfect.

[compubit]

I watched it. Then I went to the AAD web site. I still don't know how the distants rules change on Saturday, but they spent a great deal of time encouraging Fisher customers to call after Saturday. Are we "pushing the edge" here to gain bargaining power which might backfire in the long run hurting people who really do qualify for distants?:eek2:


I watched part of it (on replay) after reading the recap. Charlie kept emphasizing that AAD is not related to DishNetwork, and in fact AAD leases space from Echostar Communications, just like DishNetwork does.

Of course, it's out one of Charlie's pockets and back into the other, but it does cross the counter in transit... :sure:

Jim

[ZBoomer]

Re PBS, I've yet to see my PBS station show anything in HD, even though they broadcast an "HD" digital signal; actually they broadcast three channels here locally. Even when they play programs recorded in HD, like concerts, they are letter/pillar-boxed; 16x9 images with black border on ALL sides, lame.

PBS in HD on satellite would be nice, I guess, if PBS actually had any HD content.

[phrelin]

KQED 9 in San Francisco actually produces local programming in HD as well as offer some national programming in HD. I've seen it at my daughter's as she has OTA.

[Lincoln6Echo]

Still no date for the Cape G.-Paducah market though, considering that we were supposed to them "early '09".

re: MS-NBC-HD Now talk about a news channel that nobody watches... what's their ratings anyway? Hell, even CNN's ratings are dropping like a rock.

[msdawg22]

Tupelo, MS Locals, where at?

[BobaBird]

Tupelo HD locals were uplinked 2/11 to 129°, ch 5250-5253.

[AlbuquerqueJohn]

The next time DN steals something from TiVO or anyone else, it would be greatly appreciated by the customers who are being ripped-off if you would be certain to have programmers who can correctly develope the software for the ill-gotten good! I am SO SICK of 'pixels and crappy audio' on your beloved 722k "upgrade receiver". Whatta crock!:mad:

[djlong]

Hey, I argued that Dish couldn't have been in violation of TiVo's patents way-back-when. The Dishplayer 7100/7200 were covered in the lawsuit and my argument was that, if Dish had violated the patent, the boxes would WORK properly.

As a programmer with 30 years experience, Dish's programmers do NOT impress me. I waited for things to "settle down" before going HD with a pair of 612s and I look forward to the "Falcon" (if memory serves) box that will hook up to my home theater PC so I can use THAT (Windows Media center) as my DVR.

[HarveyLA]

The answer to PBS approaches the level of unacceptable. I live in an area where receipt of the local PBS stations is impossible. The reason I subscribe to DiSH network was to get my local channels, and to get the HD version when available. The excuse of the connect get agreement with national PBS as a money issue makes me wonder, especially when we are talking about a channel paid for with our taxes.

I second these comments. And if this isn't bad enough, Los Angeles PBS station KCET is now shown in PERMANENT LETTERBOX FORMAT in SD on Dish Network. A 16x9 program will be letterboxed the entire width of the 4x3 screen. However, standard 4x3 programs have the sides cut off as well! As a result, the video appears in a smaller "window" inside the 4x3 frame, with thick black bars on all four sides. This is intolerable to say the least. Of course you can zoom the picture in, but then it is exceedingly blurry as it is based on so few pixels. I e-mailed KCET on Wednesday (June 17) to see if they had any insight into this. No reply yet. I have added a white border to the attached photo for better visibility, showing the outline of the 4x3 LCD screen, and the "shrunken" program within.

[Stewart Vernon]

The thing about PBS is two-fold...

PBS could allow Dish to put up one national PBSHD, but they don't want to do that because of the local stations' pledge drives (among other things).

Dish might have bandwidth issues at some point if they launch PBS in all the markets, but that's probably not a concern yet.

The local PBS stations could opt for "must carry" and be free to Dish rather than asking for Dish to pay.

In most of the head-butting scenarios, it isn't one-sided... and local stations could get carriage quicker if they wanted.

It'll all come down to who gives in first... and in markets now-post-digital-transition where people are actually having difficulty getting their PBS over the air now... the onus is on the local PBS to come to an agreement now more than it is for Dish.

[scooper]

PBS stations, BY LAW, are Must Carry only - retrans consent is NOT an option for them.

[Stewart Vernon]

PBS stations, BY LAW, are Must Carry only - retrans consent is NOT an option for them.

I should probably have went with my gut and been more generic... as it is, I combined general OTA comments with PBS-specific ones, and screwed it up.

Thanks for the correction.

So it would seem in the case of PBS, the stumbling blocks are simply Dish having the bandwidth (they do for the moment in most markets I believe) and wanting to do it.

If it isn't a money angle, Dish pushing for a national feed doesn't make as much sense as it used to, now that all (I believe all) the LiL HD is on spotbeams...

Dish has a presence in areas already to capture other LiL OTA, so that's not an issue... and with spotbeams they can effectively use their bandwidth better than when locals were on conus.

So now I'm stumped as to why Dish wouldn't want to add PBS in markets they already carry HD LiL.

[phrelin]

Hmmm. My understanding is that PBS wanted money for the HD signals. I'm probably wrong.

[scooper]

Well - AS I UNDERSTAND the law and situation - the DBS providers are not required to do "Carry one, Carry All" in HD for a couple years (2012 I think ? - correction appreciated). So, Dish is basically doing like they did when they first rolled out locals - Big 4 first, then add the rest later. In Dish's case, this why you're going to see the gradual push to Eastern Arc / Western Arc as they can get subscribers off the MPEG2 equipment and onto the MPEG4. It's all going to be a balancing act.

Now if I'm wrong - don't hesitate to correct my mis-statements so I'm not saying misleading information.

[HarveyLA]

Well - AS I UNDERSTAND the law and situation - the DBS providers are not required to do "Carry one, Carry All" in HD for a couple years (2012 I think ? - correction appreciated). So, Dish is basically doing like they did when they first rolled out locals - Big 4 first, then add the rest later. In Dish's case, this why you're going to see the gradual push to Eastern Arc / Western Arc as they can get subscribers off the MPEG2 equipment and onto the MPEG4. It's all going to be a balancing act.

Now if I'm wrong - don't hesitate to correct my mis-statements so I'm not saying misleading information.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/113031-FCC_Allows_Satellite_TV_Providers_to_Phase_In_HD.p hp

"satellite broadcasters must carry TV stations' HD signals in 15% of the markets in which they carry any HD signals by Feb. 17, 2010; 30% of those by Feb. 17, 2011; 60% by Feb. 17, 2012; and 100% by Feb. 17, 2013."

[James Long]

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/113031-FCC_Allows_Satellite_TV_Providers_to_Phase_In_HD.p hp

"satellite broadcasters must carry TV stations' HD signals in 15% of the markets in which they carry any HD signals by Feb. 17, 2010; 30% of those by Feb. 17, 2011; 60% by Feb. 17, 2012; and 100% by Feb. 17, 2013."
One must not forget the "of the markets in which they carry any HD signals" part of the rule. Fortunately DISH is adding a lot of markets in HD (and the one HD channel they carry in my market opens the door for the others) ... but under the rule they could uplink every market in SD only and still be compliant.

It is also a case of OFFERING carriage. If the local station refuses to allow its HD feed to be carried you'll see the same holes in carriage as we do now with holdout stations (perhaps more). It will help with PBS HD ... whichis defined as must carry and can't hold out on DISH (on the local level). However they can refuse to provide the national HD feed DISH wants.

[HarveyLA]

If the local station refuses to allow its HD feed to be carried you'll see the same holes in carriage as we do now with holdout stations (perhaps more). It will help with PBS HD ... whichis defined as must carry and can't hold out on DISH (on the local level). However they can refuse to provide the national HD feed DISH wants.

Post-digital transition, stations now broadcast only one feed (digital) which might or might not be HD. They can negotiate for carriage on cable or satellite but not sure if stations transmitting HD can specify HD or non-HD carriage in their contracts. Seems to me it would be all or nothing. Another interesting point, many of the smaller independent stations do not have HD, so the task of carrying all HD in a market might not be as formidable as it seems.