AlaJoe said:
Ok I have bit my tongue long enough. I have to ask this. I do not get what all the fuss is about. I live in Birmingham Alabama so I want Birmingham Locals. I can not imagine why any one would want locals from a distant city. I do not care you got elected to the city council, what the weather will be tomorrow, or what's going on in general in New York city, Atlanta, or California. I want my local news. Why would you want another cities locals?
Some people can't get any locals, which makes DNS essential.
Others, like me, really enjoyed having NY and LA locals; it gave the ability to record network feeds at different times; imagine watching Leno at 9:30pm. I could! (could because I don't have the DNS anymore, when I went HD, there didn't seem to be as compelling an argument for SD distant locals).
Plus, the NY and LA feeds provide a totally different perspective on the world from what most people, out of those areas, experience. I will never forget watching the events of 9-11 on WABC out of NY. It was a totally different experience than just watching the network feeds.
The thing that I find silly about the network affiliate's arguments is that if you watch someone else's locals, you won't get the advertising that is essential to local economies. YET, in the age of the DVR and the TiVO, no one watches ANY commercials!!! I sure don't, and that includes annoying political ads!