When are the smaller locals going to move from 129 to 61.5 in Philly

There is no more room on 61.5 than there was when they launched them on 129. And with R/L DBS launching their service next summer there will be less room.

If they move anywhere they would go to E8 at 110. It is hard to say what Dish is planning. They had the spots with E7 to move them to 119, but they kept them at 129 and added other markets instead. 129 does not really seem like too bad a deal since you can get the third sat with a single triple dish. They may just leave them there.

Its also not profitable for the Echostar company to move those channels to a better location. They'd rather squeeze in another market like Lancaster,PA and get more subscribers.

Originally, I thought Charlie choosing the 129 orbital slot leasing option was just a temporary solution to a longer term must carry problem. Is this cheaper to continue leasing this spectrum as opposed to charging yourself much less and moving this to a side slot?

I would say that E* is getting the TP at 129 very cheaply. Before E* starting using the KU side of T7 the KU portion was nearly all unused. E* may also have a long term lease for that TP (probably till the sats end of life). BTW E* still holds a lease on TP13 on T5 until the end of life of T5.

Are any of the E* Philly channels on a spot beam yet?

Actually after looking at Telstar7 at 129, I am surprised more LIL has not been put on this satellite. Looks like a bunch of transponders are still not being used. Since a "DirectTV triple" dish can get 110, 119, 129, it seem ideal for Dish to put more LIL on this satellite.

No they are not on Spotbeam yet.

I don't think DISH has announced any plans to move locals on or off of the wing satellites. We are all just speculating.

The DirecTv triple dish is probably not large enough to get a usable signal from 129.

Originally posted by Mike123abc
Actually after looking at Telstar7 at 129, I am surprised more LIL has not been put on this satellite. Looks like a bunch of transponders are still not being used.

Click to expand...

I was hoping either DirecTV or Dish Network would make room for Salisbury MD Local-into-Locals. For Dish, I suppose ABC 47 and CBS 16 could go on 129W.L., an MPT can be put at 119 or 110 and made available for D.C locals also, and WHYY could be offered as its the same programming as WDPB.

For DirecTV, they need to eliminate one NJN, and move a CPTV onto TP 4 or TP 12, as this would free 2 spots on 119WL.

Salisbury is about 2-4 stations. Heck, if Waco, Colorado Springs and Anchorage are able to get satellite carriage, why not Salisbury? Scranton-Wilkes Barre would make more sense but its more channels, about 6-7. 7 for DirecTV since they'd have to carry the PAX station.

I suspect the 129 was just a test for a bigger effort to put up locals fast if the merger failed. Theres a good bit of under used transponder space, E could surprise many by expandng LIL nationwide this way///

E* has indicated that they will go to 80 or so DMAs for LIL. They have the capacity for many more, but dont want to spend the money to set up a POP in smaller markets, transmit it back and uplink it.

They have a formula. They calculate the costs of uplink vs the potential subscribers gained due to LIL. They will only do the markets that would generate a profit.

The 80 number was to help merger approval. 100 is more like it if the mergger truly dies.

The loosers will be the smallest DMAs that will never get LIL...

I also dont see why 129 is used to add more locals too. This can be comparable to what we will be dealing with on the SuperDish as in size of dish and how they broadcast locals on a side slot other than 110 or 119. Its like they already had the SuperDish all along in a sense, just not at 105 or 121.

If they could use 105, 110, 119, 121 on the same dish then they should be able to do 110, 119, 121, 129 on the same dish as well with a little larger dish. What slots can the oval dishes used for Philadelphia locals pick up? Doesnt it pick up 110, 119, 129 now or just the 129 slot and those that want 110 and 119 have to have an additional dish in which is a Dish 500?