[Maruuk]

I thought I heard last year that PBS-HD was coming both to locals and a national feed was to be made available as well. Any update on this?

 

[Michael D'Angelo]

I am moving this to the "DIRECTV Programming" forum.

 

[mthompso105]

Here is the link to the press release. http://dtv.client.shareholder.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=284302
Anythinkg more is just speculation on my part

 

[kenmoo]

It's only been 9 months since the announcement. Give DirecTV a chance. They're still in the promised year 2008.

 

[Steve]

It's only been 9 months since the announcement. Give DirecTV a chance. They're still in the promised year 2008.

Well, given 9 months have passed, it's probably "any day" now! Maybe they should induce? :lol: /steve

 

[ShawnL25]

Back in August they (internet speculators) kept throwing around October as a launch date, but October is here and all rumors have quieted. I was expecting PBS HD and a slew of National Channels coming online I have since tempered my expectation. Soon enough we will see new HD

 

[Doug Brott]

Talk to PBS .. that's where the delay is.

 

[n3ntj]

I've contacted my local PBS station and PBS National and get no responses.

 

[kramerboy]

Talk to PBS .. that's where the delay is.

Hmmm, not sure what information you have that everyone else does not.

However, the press release says that an agreement is in place. Not sure how/why PBS would be the hold up if an agreement was already there.... Technical issues, perhaps?

 

[lwilli201]

According to the news release the agreement requires ratification by the Board of Directors of each PBS affiliates. Getting them to all agree on anything is like herding cats. :lol: It is very possible that the whole thing will just die. There does not appear to be a timetable on getting the ratification process completed. The heat is on the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) which are the ones that will have egg on their face if they can not get the member stations to ratify this agreement.

 

[Steve]

Hmm. So why do Verizon and Cablevision in my area already carry my local WNET in HD? Is it your understanding that until all PBS stations across the country get their individual board's OK's, no single PBS LIL can go live in HD on DirecTV? /steve

 

[Mike Bertelson]

Talk to PBS .. that's where the delay is.

Has an agreement been reached or not?

I thought it was a done deal. :scratchin

Mike

 

[lwilli201]

Hmm. So why do Verizon and Cablevision in my area already carry my local WNET in HD? Is it your understanding that until all PBS stations across the country get their individual board's OK's, no single PBS LIL can go live in HD on DirecTV? /steve

Looks like each affiliate can make agreements with local cable companies. Not sure why the APTS took the lead to get an agreement with Directv instead of Directv going to each affiliate. In any case, it is confusing and appears that all the facts surrounding the process have not been made public. For any one to unilaterally blame Directv for the delay would be wrong. Directv made a good faith agreement with PBS and the APTS. The ball is in the APTS and the local affiliates court to deliver on the agreement.

 

[Steve]

Looks like each affiliate can make agreements with local cable companies. Not sure why the APTS took the lead to get an agreement with Directv instead of Directv going to each affiliate. In any case, it is confusing and appears that all the facts surrounding the process have not been made public. For any one to unilaterally blame Directv for the delay would be wrong. Directv made a good faith agreement with PBS and the APTS. The ball is in the APTS and the local affiliates court to deliver on the agreement.

Ahhh. So it's a nat'l vs. local thing. Since DirecTV is nat'l, it comes under the APTS's purview instead of the affiliate's. Got it. /steve

 

[man_rob]

According to the news release the agreement requires ratification by the Board of Directors of each PBS affiliates. Getting them to all agree on anything is like herding cats. :lol: It is very possible that the whole thing will just die. There does not appear to be a timetable on getting the ratification process completed. The heat is on the Association of Public Television Stations (APTS) which are the ones that will have egg on their face if they can not get the member stations to ratify this agreement.

It makes one wonder why DirecTV was so quick with a press release if the agreement was so tenuous. Why does DirecTV's PR office engage in such dubious antics?

 

[Spoffo]

I'd give DirecTv the benefit of the doubt in this case. Everyone else they negotiate with is a business, and a deal is a deal. They were probably seduced by the fact that a lot of people at the top of the network and major stations are as professional as anyone from a commercial network. They probably were unprepared for the political lunacy of dealing with the non-profit boards one-by-one.

"Herding cats" is a VERY polite description of that process.:nono2:

 

[Piratefan98]

It makes one wonder why DirecTV was so quick with a press release if the agreement was so tenuous. Why does DirecTV's PR office engage in such dubious antics?

To enlist more subscribers?

Jeff

 

[GregLee]

Is it your understanding that until all PBS stations across the country get their individual board's OK's, no single PBS LIL can go live in HD on DirecTV? /steve

Here in Hawaii, we've had the local PBS affiliate, KHET, in HD on DirecTV since last November.

 

[kenmoo]

Talk to PBS .. that's where the delay is.

I have talked to the station mgr and the head engineer for KVIE PBS in the Sacramento DMA many times. As of last Feb they both said they were ready to supply a single HD PBS feed to DirecTV and there was no contract dispute. They had very detailed information and indicated DirecTV did not have to transmit any other PBS HD signal in the US to transmit their specific HD signal. They could treat it just like the other 4 HD MPEG4 LIL's in Sacramento.

Maybe APTS is the problem but I've written them and after one canned response they dropped out of the dialog. If PBS is the problem then DirecTV should say so instead of sending back canned responses about an issue that they know a lot about.

PBS is the only entity of the 3 in question to give me what seems like an honest answer. We as consumers have no input into or knowledge of what is really happening on this issue.

 

[Maruuk]

Thanks for all the info, gang! Man, it sure is a quagmire. I guess they can't go with one national PBS-HD station since it would PO the individual ones--yet they had no problem getting a national PBS-SD feed going.