[terfmop]

This may be a moot point, as I eventualy did get a waiver granted to receive the NPS ABC stations, but I am still somewhat confused about the Terre Haute DMA.

I emailed Decisionmark to ask them about why some people (in Terre Haute) did not have to go through the waiver process and others did have to go through the waiver process to acquire an ABC network. To be brief, they said that my zip code (47803) is served by a grade 'A' signal from WICS out of Springfield, IL. And that others in town (e.g. zip code 47805) are served from a grade 'B' signal from WICD.

I know for a fact that WICS does not come in, but I decided to find a bit more specific info, so I went to the TV query tool on the FCC site ( http://www.fcc.gov/fcc-bin/audio/tvq.html ) and queried both WICS & WICD. Only WICD made it into the Terre Haute area.

And what confuses me even more, is that the list of stations in the Terre Haute DMA only include an NBC, CBS, PBS, & Fox.

Where did Decisionmark get their data? I suspect that either I am just not getting it, or Decisionmark has some faulty data for Terre Haute. Or should E* be including WICD in the LIL lineup?

 

[James Long]

47805 is a large zip code that extends north outside of Terre Haute to the county line. I would expect that code to be flagged as Grade B for WICD (even though the entire code is not covered by the Grade B signal).

47803 is more confusing. East downtown and the airport then a slight swing north. No way is that area Grade A for WICS or WICD. That has got to be a database error.

WICD's tower is not in one of the counties that make up the DMA ... so Neilson has not placed WICD in the DMA and it is, by law, not available in Terre Haute via satellite. It could be offered as a distant. IIRC E* doen't carry it at all (relying on WICS in that market).

 

[James Long]

Here is a Google Earth map of the area with zip codes and an estimated Grade B line.