New member here and just wanted to throw an idea out to the masses. When it comes to getting a waiver to get distant locals, how many of you think if people started pushing the fact the station owners are now requiring payment to broadcast their signals would be a good start for pushing for the option to be able to view the east or west coast distant networks? If we as customers are essentially paying for that service now, shouldn't we have the option of where we get those channels from. Just a thought of mine and wanted to see how others feel about the topic.
The FCC writes regulations that follow the law. The law is written by Congress. Yes, it is all one happy government but one needs to know which windmills to tilt at. In this case, if one does not like the rules that are codified in law one should direct their ire at Congress.
That is what broadcasters, satellite companies and others are doing. They are talking to Congress. Trying to get the next version of the law to be more favorable to their side of the argument.
The FCC doesn't really have much to do with retransmission, no. Licensure for broadcast isn't related to retransmission agreements with MVPDs. "The Government" isn't one big monolithic thing.
It would be great if east and west feeds of just the network broadcast could be put up. I remember watching FOX wild feeds in the C band days, the channel would light up at 8, national commercials only, where local ads usually run, a network logo or network ads would run. Once the programming was over a 10, there was a FOX logo until the next day or next national network broadcast. What a great way for Directv to make $$$ and keep our bills reasonable...just noticed the upcoming price jump for Premier today...
There is no legal way for this to happen as the law currently stands. DirecTV has to provide you with your locals if they provide them, and if they don't and you can get them OTA, they cannot provide you DNS. It's a law, not a DirecTV policy.
trust me.. just because D* has locals, YOU DON"T HAVE TO HAVE THEM..I know this from personal tonight's viewing.. and every day for the past 14 years..
That's because you did it 14 years ago and are grandfathered, since then a new rule went into effect that requires them.
Now, the only way you can signup for a package without them is if you live in a market that has their locals on 119 and have line of sight issues or DirecTV doesn't carry locals for your area. If you fall under those categories the packages are $3 cheaper.
Once Directv is able to provide locals for all markets, and without needing 119, that means they won't allow anyone new to get distant networks? Or would they drop them entirely?
There's still small markets that don't have full time affiliates of all of the big 4 networks so they have a remap of one the DNS stations as part of their locals. There's also some counties considered "unserved" because of the shape of the spot beam compared to the size of the market. Not to mention the RV, Marine and Air subscribers who are eligible for DNS in some cases.
If Aereo wins at SCOTUS, that could change some things. It would reduce the power that local stations have over Directv, Dish, TWC, etc. in negotiations.
If Aereo wins at SCOTUS, that could change some things. It would reduce the power that local stations have over Directv, Dish, TWC, etc. in negotiations.
Only if those providers made deals with Aereo or set up their own Aereo like service. Relying on streaming for live content like sports is a risky proposition for a provider like Directv that doesn't provide internet service, because they'll be the ones that get the complaints when performance is subpar, but be unable to do anything about it.
It makes more sense for cable, if it is all contained on their internal network they can insure it reaches every customer's home with the desired level of quality (assuming they also deliver that customer's internet)
It would be great if east and west feeds of just the network broadcast could be put up. I remember watching FOX wild feeds in the C band days, the channel would light up at 8, national commercials only, where local ads usually run, a network logo or network ads would run. Once the programming was over a 10, there was a FOX logo until the next day or next national network broadcast. What a great way for Directv to make $$$ and keep our bills reasonable...just noticed the upcoming price jump for Premier today...
I used to have. C Band dish set up. Then I gave the set up to a friend. That was neat if the wild feeds that are on there. I miss the ability of order the channels individually or a programme group. My best company I used was Turner Satellite. I do wish these was such things available on the DISH and Direct TV dishes.
Programming satellites on the CBAND Dish was not all that easy. But eventually that was figured out.
This was like back in 1990. I wonder if CBand offers just as much today as back then.
Once Directv is able to provide locals for all markets, and without needing 119, that means they won't allow anyone new to get distant networks? Or would they drop them entirely?
As KyL416 noted, there are reasons to keep them. There are short markets that do not have all of the big 4. For that reason alone, there will always be a need for DNS feeds until something changes that.
I agree with you somewhat with the only caveat being the need for local weather. I live in an area notorious for severe weather. There is no way I would depend on national weather feeds to protect myself or my family. While I agree that local news blows on most "normal" news days (cat stuck in tree, dog found in dumpster), when disaster strikes or emergency weather threatens, locals are the best option.
Nope. C-Band (and Ku-Band) are mostly a vast empty sea of nothingness. There are still a few wild feeds, religious, and foreign programming in the clear (both digital and analog), and some of the network feeds are still there. A majority of feeds and "pay" TV channels have gone to digital encryption and are not able to be viewed. The last time I checked, there are about 10 Pay TV channels available for subscription but the number of the available channels has been dwindling down each year.
Ku-Band is still pretty good to use as a hobby, but don't expect it to replace your cable/D*/E* as your primary source of TV entertainment.
Man I miss those days, $25 a month for all the sports channels and all pro sports were included with that, there was no such thing as Center Ice, Extra Innings, League Pass. Sports has gotten so far out of hand now.
Maybe if the OTA networks were convinced that a significant number of subscribers just don't watch the local affiliates any longer, they would help get the law changed. I'd like very much to be able to watch the national versions of NBC/CBS/ABC/PBS, but since I can't, I've given up watching the old broadcast networks entirely. But my circumstances may well be unusual.
I can't receive anything OTA, due to local topography on Oahu, but DirecTV provides HD versions of the local affiliates for all the old networks, plus MeTV, so I could watch them if I chose. I don't watch them, because they kill me with commercials (their times run behind the hour so they can insert extra commercials), and also because in the DirecTV schedule, they're all clustered together down at the bottom, where I don't ordinarily even see what they have on. And I'm not interested in local news, games, or special events (other than the rare hurricane or tsunami).
At the very least the law should be changed so that if your satellite provider doesn't provide locals in HD then you will be allowed to get the national feeds in HD. Where I live all of the locals are in SD only and I can get only one local station in HD OTA. It's just wrong.
At the very least the law should be changed so that if your satellite provider doesn't provide locals in HD then you will be allowed to get the national feeds in HD. Where I live all of the locals are in SD only and I can get only one local station in HD OTA. It's just wrong.
Maybe if the OTA networks were convinced that a significant number of subscribers just don't watch the local affiliates any longer, they would help get the law changed.
The law is something that was rammed through by the cable companies and local affiliates, not the networks. The National Cable Television Association (NCTA) spent almost $18.9M in 2012 lobbying Congress. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB; the local broadcast stations) isn't easily ignored.
if your satellite provider doesn't provide locals in HD then you will be allowed to get the national feeds in HD. Where I live all of the locals are in SD only and I can get only one local station in HD OTA. It's just wrong.
I am advocating changing the rules so that anyone who can't get those channels in HD could get the national feeds. That would apply to Dish and cable subscribers as well. Why wouldn't you want me to have the ability to watch broadcast network programming in HD?
Some people can get local Salt Lake City channels OTA via translators located in my area, but my house is located in a neighborhood that cannot get those signals due to the area's topography so they are not available to me OTA. We have one full power local NBC affiliate, KENV, transmitting from another location which I can get in HD OTA. Directv doesn't carry KENV for some reason but carries the local Salt lake City NBC affiliate instead in SD. The local Salt lake City channels that I only get in SD are available in HD to Directv subscribers who are located closer to Salt lake City. I believe that the same situation applies to Dish subscribers. I can't get cable in this location either. However even though my area is considered a part of the Salt Lake City coverage area Directv's HD spot beam doesn't reach far enough so we are stuck with SD only. I am advocating that people in our situation be allowed to get the national network feeds in HD. It seems like a reasonable enough request to me.
As far as "DirecTV is refusing to carry them" goes, actually they refuse to set up their spot beam so it reaches far enough so that people in my area can get locals in HD. Perhaps it is not technologically feasible to do that. I don't know. But again that's why I am advocating being allowed to get the national feeds in HD.
The franchise model dictates that you get what they give you. HD is by no means mandated.
Your best bet is to work with your local affiliate and make sure there's always letters in their FCC file.
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