[weadjust]

WKDH my local ABC station announced today that they would be going off the air Aug. 31 after being on the air for 10 years. The closest ABC station will be Memphis about 100 miles away. I get locals from Direct and OTA. Will Direct add an out of market ABC station like Memphis or a National Feed to replace my local ABC? I can't pick up any Memphis stations with my current roof top anteanna.

 

[mreposter]

You might want to call and ask. Even if Directv doesn't have an immediate answer, your request for clarification on a specific issue with a local station my filter up through the system.

 

[charlie460]

"Its owner, Southern Broadcasting, says it will end broadcasting at 11:59 p.m. on August 31 after more than a decade on the air.

ABC plans to continue airing programming locally, but the network has not said how it will do that.

Viewers are being advised to call ABC at (212) 456-7777 to let the network know they still want to continue watching their favorite ABC programs.

Cable and satellite viewers are being advised to call their provider."

 

[bobvick1983]

WKDH my local ABC station announced today that they would be going off the air Aug. 31 after being on the air for 10 years. The closest ABC station will be Memphis about 100 miles away. I get locals from Direct and OTA. Will Direct add an out of market ABC station like Memphis or a National Feed to replace my local ABC? I can't pick up any Memphis stations with my current roof top anteanna.

How far are you from the Alabama line? Do you have an OTA antenna? WCFT 33 out of Birmingham/Tuscaloosa used to come in strong in East Mississippi when it was analog, I am not sure about since it went digital.

 

[RML81]

It could be the case that one of the other stations in the market will add ABC as a subchannel.

 

[weadjust]

WTVA the NBC station is currently operating WKDH (ABC) and WLOV (Fox). I guess WTVA decided to stop operating WKDH. The only local option would be for WCBI (CBS) to take over operations. They already operate the CW and My Mississippi channels. I may have to get up on the roof and try aiming my antenna towards Tuscaloosa or Memphis. Both of those areas are the opposite direction of my locals I currently receive OTA.

I hope to have some kind of solution before football season starts and the new season of ABC shows.

 

[bobvick1983]

If I were betting, I expect that either WTVA or WLOV wii pick up ABC on their .2 channel. I don't think WCBI has the space with the two sub channels.
Where are you located? WCFT broadcast from a 2,000 ft tower, so they get out pretty far.

 

[weadjust]

Since WTVA is already operating WKDH wouldn't they just announce that the station was moving to one of their sub channels. I wonder if the owner of WTVA is trying to acquire WKDH by terminating their operating agreement causing WKDH to find an alternative or sell out. Speculation on my part. They just need to get me some ABC before the Alabama vs Michigan game.

I'm located in Tupelo so I may have to try the Birmingham or Memphis stations on my antenna set up.

 

[mcrutland]

If WPTY (Newport, soon to be Nexstar) or ABC 33/40 (Allbritton) was smart, they would acquire the WKDH license and set it up as a semi satellite station retaining the current WKDH programming while adding their news. Not sure if this would be a good business model, but it would be to news from a neighboring market again.

 

[ms1960]

The problem with moving to a sub channel their would be no hd.

 

[Number Six]

Don't forget there's also WBBJ in Jackson, Tenn., which is about the same distance from you as WPTY in Memphis. Not sure if Direct has picked that one up yet, however.

 

[mhking]

If WPTY (Newport, soon to be Nexstar) or ABC 33/40 (Allbritton) was smart, they would acquire the WKDH license and set it up as a semi satellite station retaining the current WKDH programming while adding their news. Not sure if this would be a good business model, but it would be to news from a neighboring market again.

It would be a really smart move for ABC33/40, but I'm thinking the Jackson or Meridian station will likely step in -- and that's IF the CBS/NBC there does not step up with a digital signal.

 

[zeus]

The problem with moving to a sub channel their would be no hd.

It's not a short term problem either, it is a "forever" problem. The FCC only allocates enough bandwidth for one true HD channel per broadcaster so the subchannel is always going to be an OTA SD channel unless they find a way to compress the hell out of both channels - which is also a losing proposition.

In my case, D* also has no plans of ever uplinking the sub channel. So basically, a major network will never be in HD in (my former) DMA.

 

[wilbur_the_goose]

and remember, D* isn't adding any OTA subchannels to their guide data, so you're out of luck on that front.

 

[VARTV]

It's not a short term problem either, it is a "forever" problem. The FCC only allocates enough bandwidth for one true HD channel per broadcaster so the subchannel is always going to be an OTA SD channel unless they find a way to compress the hell out of both channels - which is also a losing proposition.

There are multiple ABC O&Os (and other stations) doing two HD channels and some with a third SD channel... RabbitEars.info

I have no idea how the PQ looks like...

 

[davring]

Our local PBS, depending on programming, will add a second HD channel if needed, but they kill a couple of their four sub channels to do so. The picture quality is surprisingly good.

 

[Msguy]

Tupelo/Columbus Mississippi has always been a real crappy Market. You don't have all of the stations located in one city. You've got WTVA coming from Tupelo, WCBI coming from Columbus, WLOV at one time came from a real small town called West Point, (don't know if WLOV still operates in West Point) and this WKDH ABC channel hasn't been around but for 10 years or so and where are they coming from? Tupelo needs to just get more channels in that area or Memphis just needs to step in and start covering that area. That area of the country is always last in everything.

 

[mcrutland]

The sad part about this is WKDH has fantastic PQ because it runs no subchannels. On top of this, it never preempted network programing.

 

[Alan Gordon]

The problem with moving to a sub channel their would be no hd.

That's not necessarily the case.

In my market, WALB (NBC) broadcasts ABC on their sub-channel. ABC is 480i on the sub-channel, but WALB offers an HD feed to satcos and cablecos. Dish Network and Mediacom offers it in HD, but DirecTV so far only offers it in SD.

My "local" CBS affiliate broadcasts MyNetworkTV and The CW on their sub-channels. Next year, they're going to start offering The CW in HD, and from my understanding, they're going to offer both CBS and The CW in HD. I'm not sure what they'll do with MNT. Gray, who owns the station has at least one more affiliate in which they offer CBS/CW both in HD... they do so by downconverting the channels to 720p.

Don't forget there's also WBBJ in Jackson, Tenn., which is about the same distance from you as WPTY in Memphis. Not sure if Direct has picked that one up yet, however.

DirecTV currently offers WBBJ 7 in HD with the Jackson, TN locals.

It's on D10 or D12 at 103° on transponder 18.

and remember, D* isn't adding any OTA subchannels to their guide data, so you're out of luck on that front.

My local FOX affiliate's sub-channel popped up earlier this year.

~Alan

 

[zeus]

There are multiple ABC O&Os (and other stations) doing two HD channels and some with a third SD channel... RabbitEars.info

I have no idea how the PQ looks like...

Interesting.

What I notice is that there are no constant bit rate 1080i primary channels with an HD sub (at least none that specified bandwidth.)

My local CBS runs at 14.3MB constant, leaving less than 5MB for the sub channel.