NAB wants 100% LIL coverage by direct

[Bob Haller]

By 2006 see todays sky report


The NAB also asked that DirecTV provide local TV in all 210
DMAs by Jan. 1, 2006, if News Corp. wins approval for its
transaction.

[Jacob S]

Also being discussed here: http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16074

[Nick]

Jacob, your linked thread topic is unrelated to this thread.

???

[Bob Haller]

I think 100% LIL is a done deal. Certinally in E case its just a matter of $$ for spot beam birds. I am surprised more arent interested in this.

[Jacob S]

Sorry, the wrong link address got pasted. I corrected it.

DirecTv and Dish Network had already mentioned a possibility of providing all of the locals and I think may have been asked to also provide a certain amount of HD channels in which they may have already come close to achieving that if not already.

[Karl Foster]

Why are they only pressing Directv to carry all LIL markets? Why not the same scrutiny for Dish Network? Are there not rural customers who subscribe to Dish Network as well?

[Bob Haller]

Ahh whatever one service does the other one wll do too.

Imagine 6 years ago if anyone had talked of 100% LIL they would of been laughed at.

Its coming its only a matter of time.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by karl_f
Why are they only pressing Directv to carry all LIL markets? Why not the same scrutiny for Dish Network? Are there not rural customers who subscribe to Dish Network as well?

Charlie was promising all 210 dma's to get his merger aproved so now the NAB wants this from Rupe before aproval.

I would not be too surprised that when all the smoke is cleared that D* and E* will do some sort of limited joint venture to provide locals to small dma's that D* and E* can not justify cost and bandwidth to do alone.

[Mike123abc]

LIL to all markets will really be a stumbling block for D* unless they go and find more satellite space. They will have capacity on spot beams when D-7s goes up for about 125 markets or so. This will put them short about 125 markets. They will either have to get another satellite slot like Dish is doing or launch another satellite.

[Chris Freeland]

Originally posted by Mike123abc
LIL to all markets will really be a stumbling block for D* unless they go and find more satellite space. They will have capacity on spot beams when D-7s goes up for about 125 markets or so. This will put them short about 125 markets. They will either have to get another satellite slot like Dish is doing or launch another satellite.

Yes I agree, this is why I believe their is a joint venture in the future of D* and E*. Even with the additional bandwidth that E* has acquired, E* will also need another Spotbeam satellite to do all 210 markets, if E* and D* can do this together it will save both a ton of money.

[voyagerbob]

Originally posted by Bob Haller
I think 100% LIL is a done deal. Certinally in E case its just a matter of $$ for spot beam birds. I am surprised more arent interested in this.

I think it is coming one day as well. I also think we will lose distant locals when this happens as well and we will all be forced into taking the locals in any package we order just like the cable company is required to do. Which totally sucks.

[DCSholtis]

Originally posted by karl_f
Why are they only pressing Directv to carry all LIL markets? Why not the same scrutiny for Dish Network? Are there not rural customers who subscribe to Dish Network as well?

That would require the use of not only 2 but THREE dishes.....:D

[jrbdmb]

Originally posted by voyagerbob
I think it is coming one day as well. I also think we will lose distant locals when this happens as well and we will all be forced into taking the locals in any package we order just like the cable company is required to do. Which totally sucks. Agreed. Why would the NAB want DirecTV to carry all 210 DMAs? So that they get Congress or the FCC to end distant NETs.

[Jacob S]

I also think that it is just a matter of time until all the locals are going to be provided. By the time they are all on satellite it will be time to start broadcasting digital and HDTV channels.

[Curtis0620]

D* will use their Ka-band licenses just like E* is proposing to do.

[Lyle_JP]

If this happens, they had better alter the SHVIA to account for "significantly viewed" channels. In many if not most of the smaller DMAs, not every network has an affiliate and viewers there typically watch an affiliate from an adjacent DMA. Cable companies have been able to deliver these adjacent DMA stations for years with no legal consequences thanks to a loophole in which a station can be considered "significantly viewed" in that area. Even if an affiliate IS offered in that DMA for a particular network, "significantly viewed" still allows competing affiliates from an adjacent DMA to exist on the channel line up.

Case in point: A majority of the western Lake Tahoe region is technically in the Sacramento DMA, but virtually everyone there prefers news and weather from the Reno stations, since they actually do news and weather about their area. And yet, SHVIA will not allow Dish to give those Tahoe residents in the Sacramento DMA the Reno stations, even though they can easily get them from Comcast.

[Brett]

Why not just allow locals be sold on their DMA and Grade B contour? Makes more sense.

This way, if a viewer can pick up the station over the air, the station can claim the viewer, and the viewer is not denied access to watching the local station on satellite.