Bluefield, WV Locals?

[webb04]

This may have been asked here before, but I am curious if anyone has any information on when Dish may think of offering the Bluefield/Beckley/Oak Hill DMA's?

[webb04]

Anybody?? I know of one local station that has stated in public that they have provided a retrans agreement.

[SamC]

The market consists of only three stations. WVVA, which is, sadly, the market leader, UHF WVNS, which is a de facto repeater of Huntington's WOWK, and WOAY, one of the most amateurish stations in America. Fox, CW, and My are DT sidebands, and the market has traditionally received stations from outside the market to supplement the missing networks and the amateurish local news.

However, it is one of the country's most dished markets, with no cable in many areas and no place where local TV is free.

[dough_boy747]

i live in McDowell co. and the mountians very high, its hard to get any kind of picture at all, i talk to WVVA and they act like they well never go to satlelite tv, I thank the cable com. has them bought off, i talk to the Nick Rayhall about this and he says they are working on it, I dont thank any one is in a hurry to help in any way fast. IF more would get involved in this, and contact there local state and federal coverment things might start to happen who knows around this part of the woods :hurah: See the thing is if any thind does happen like a national emergence in this nation we would be the last to know. Like that will matter them lol:hurah:

[SamC]

Its hard to understand what a 20 term congressman who does not even have opponents in 90-10 district is "doing" about it, or could.

In any event, the question is one of numbers. It is the 150th (of 212) TV market, and it loses about 3% of its population every year. And, due to the terrain and the bandit cable companies, many people have received alternative network feeds since the early BUD days, and a happy to do so.

Really, the best thing would be for the remaining two independently owned stations (as I mentioned WVNS is already a de facto repeater of Huntington's WOWK) to likewise be acquired by their counterparts. That would increase the Huntington-Charleston market size into the mid 50s (from 64th) and provide the area with viable TV.