Why can't I get two DMA's?

[snarlyoldman]

Charter, a local cable company in East Tennessee, is able to provide customers locals from two DMA's. Tri-Cities and Knoxville. Why can't Dish do the same? Yes, I know. I can get one using OTA and the other through Dish, but I want to get BOTH through Dish.

Cable can do it but satellite can't?

 

[Cold Irons]

It's the Law....Because the US Congress is in the pocket of NAB and the Cable Companies....

 

[snarlyoldman]

That's it? That's the answer?

 

[dare2be]

That's probably the best answer we can provide here. No one really knows. Maybe someone in the network broadcast industry has better inside information.

 

[Bobby]

Yes, that is the answer. Satellite services operate under different rules from cable services. Fair? No it isn't, but then, as they say, life is not fair....

 

[Rolling Joe]

I bet the NAB - broadcasters - have never liked the NCTA's lobbying prowess that convinced Congress to allow the two DMA exemption for cable under certain (even more) government rules. If you don't like it, the solution is simple. Get the feds out of the local channel monopoly business.

 

[dare2be]

the solution is simple. Get the feds out of the local channel monopoly business.

...and more involved in the content ownership monopoly business.

 

[Hall]

...is able to provide customers locals from two DMA's. Tri-Cities and Knoxville.

Just curious, between 8pm and 11pm, do the duplicate stations, i.e. NBC, FOX, etc, show the same programming ? I suspect they do not. In the Dayton OH market, Time Warner carries 1-2 Cincinnati stations but during primetime, the Cincinnati stations do NOT show primetime programming - they show syndicated stuff, re-runs (Friends, Big Bang Theory, etc) while people living in Cincinnati watching those same stations do see normal primetime programming.

 

[dwarren2]

To the OP, can you receive the non Dish DMA's with an antenna? I can receive both Syracuse and Rochester NY locals using my roof top antenna. Rochester is my Dish dma.

 

[KAB]

He knows he can. He just wants them both with Dish.

 

[Hall]

I can get one using OTA and the other through Dish, but I want to get BOTH through Dish.

To the OP, can you receive the non Dish DMA's with an antenna?

I think he can....

 

[ChadT41]

If you really want to go outside of what they offer, be willing to lay for the OTA. It's going to be a lot less stressful than trying to convince a multi billion dollar company to go against the GOV

 

[dwarren2]

I'm very happy to get Syracuse via my antenna. Dish doesn't supply any of the subchannels and I get full epg info for most of those channels. It also gives me the ability to watch them in case of weather induced Dish signal loss.

 

[Hall]

...than trying to convince a multi billion dollar company to go against the GOV

There's no "trying to convince" involved, IMO. If you got in touch with the right people at Dish, their blanket response needs to be "contact your congressional rep".


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[ChadT41]

I used to tell customers that. lol. I was kind of an ass though.

 

[Hall]

Dish doesn't supply any of the subchannels and I get full epg info for most of those channels.

Dish carries those (main) channels for the Syracuse market, hence you get the guide data.


Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[cpalmer2k]

The rules for local stations are different for satellite providers than for cable. The FCC has a list of what it calls "Significantly Viewed Locals" for each of the Nielson DMA markets in the nation. These are channels that are outside your actual DMA, but because of geography can easily be received there and are watched by a large number of viewers in your DMA. Cable companies often carry these "Significantly Viewed Stations" on their systems in addition to the assigned affiliates for a DMA.

In my experience I've never seen a cable company carry these outside network channels in HD though, only in SD. Where I'm located in the Greenville-Spartanburg Market some zip codes get some of the Charlotte, NC stations in SD on cable, but not in HD. I guess to protect the assigned network affiliates.

Satellite providers have to go by stricter rules to carry these channels. Dish doesn't offer any of these "significantly viewed channels" but DirecTV does carry some of them in very, very few markets. DirecTV calls them "Neighboring Local Channels" and their availability is usually dependent upon what zip code you are in. I know there is one county near the Georgia/Tennessee line that gets all of the network affiliates from Atlanta and from Chattanooga, TN because of this rule. For a satellite provider to carry these "Neighboring Locals" the channel must be recognized by the FCC as one that is "Significantly Viewed" in that area, and they must compensate the station for these out of market viewers. (usually at 50% of the rate they pay to carry it in market)

 

[Tampa8]

I'm guessing they aren't providing two DMA's but rather some significantly viewed channels as in the post above.

That actually started because of low technology, at least it did in our area of Ct. At one time we got two RI locals, and two Boston locals. While we were not in the significantly viewed distance for any except one, at that time the technology didn't exist to only give them to the households who should. All signals came from one antenna site. So everyone on the Eastern Ct cable system got them. (I suppose they could have been forced to block the channel at each house drop but apparently were not forced to) Even a signal boosting site was not used till well after cable started here.
As technology progressed it would appear cable companies were grandfathered to continue to carry them as ours was. Because of limitations when HD came around ours did drop a couple of those channels, but we still get Boston, which particularly with the digital changeover is about impossible to get here. (Even analog required a tremendous effort)

 

[cpalmer2k]

In most cases yes, but again that one county in Georgia I used as an example gets the "Big 4" from both DMAs, so there are exceptions


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[jscud]

Dish doesn't offer any of these "significantly viewed channels"

Dish does offer a few SV channels...and some in HD. In all three DMAs in NH, Dish offers WMUR in HD. In the two southern counties of VT, residents receive VT locals in SD plus either the Boston locals in HD or the Albany locals in HD.