Forcing locals?

[Link]

My neighbor has had distant networks for several years now and the locals became available in October I think. They got a letter saying CBS was being cut off and they could get locals. They don't want locals and want to keep the distant stations--why do they have to change? It is ridiculous.

[SimpleSimon]

Sounds like the local CBS affiliate is exercising their rights.

I lost my distant ABC feeds that way - but only ABC. I had to add my locals to get it back, but I did NOT lose the rest of my distants.

KRDO-TV, ABC in Colorado Springs, SUCKS!

[James Long]

My neighbor has had distant networks for several years now and the locals became available in October I think. They got a letter saying CBS was being cut off and they could get locals. They don't want locals and want to keep the distant stations--why do they have to change? It is ridiculous.It's a bit early, but under the new law (SHVERA) everyone with distants will be getting a letter giving them the option to take local feeds or distants. In the future that's the way congress (NAB driven) wants it. The future of distants is that when you get your own locals you cannot keep the distants. There is a limited amount of grandfathering for those who have distants now, and special situations for those who have had distants since 1999. But the trend is "get locals, lose distants" in the future.

See the SHVIRA forum here on DBSTalk for more discussion.

JL

[Bob Haller]

Buy a junk tent camper, qualify for distants:)

[garypen]

I've heard you lose your local sports nets when you get an RV waiver.

[Link]

I've heard you lose your local sports nets when you get an RV waiver.

How do you go about getting an RV waiver to keep distants?

Also, if grandfathered since 1999 or before, how can the local CBS affiliate cause them to lose CBS distant now? They want to keep the distants, they have no interest in a super dish or to get local channels.

[Chris Walker]

Same thing happened to me, I have had all 4 distants E&W since 99, assumed I was grandfathered, but surely enough I got a letter in September saying I couldn't get distant NBC anymore due to "contractual obligations" :rolleyes: . I decided to call their bluff, but they cut my NBCs off a month later, so as soon as they were shut off, I gave the local affiliate hell and they granted me a waiver. With this new satellite act being passed, I don't know if waivers will do you a hell of a lot of good anymore. I wish them luck. Dish called me three times while the cutoff was going on trying to convince me to take their SuperDish upgrade to get the garbage locals, but I refused simply due to the principle of the matter. Local affiliates need to understand that angering their viewers is NOT the way to get viewership up. If my local NBC would have refused my waiver, I simply would never have watched them again.