Senators Blast DirecTV For Underserving 12 DMAs

[Albiondon]

Senators Blast DirecTV For Underserving 12 DMAs - TV News Check
The lawmakers from Colorado and Wyoming say the satellite operator’s offering of distant signals from New York and Los Angeles in place of local affiliates in 12 small markets is “unacceptable” and “must end.”

 

[Juan]

The customers probably prefer the distants

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[zack]

Senators Blast DirecTV For Underserving 12 DMAs - TV News Check
The lawmakers from Colorado and Wyoming say the satellite operator’s offering of distant signals from New York and Los Angeles in place of local affiliates in 12 small markets is “unacceptable” and “must end.”

Report: DirecTV parent AT&T to phase out satellites in 3 to 5 years ...

FCC: Landlines Will Only Exist Another 5-10 Years, AT&T Wants Out by 2020 ·

What else is there to say? Big Bell got broken up years years ago only to create this monster today!

 

[Claude Greiner]

Why not just change the law to force the issue.

Dish had to carry all the locals because they are not allowed to offer distant networks.

I don’t see what the issue is to add the other DMA’s

 

[Don in CT]

Report: DirecTV parent AT&T to phase out satellites in 3 to 5 years ...

FCC: Landlines Will Only Exist Another 5-10 Years, AT&T Wants Out by 2020 ·

What else is there to say? Big Bell got broken up years years ago only to create this monster today!

Basically the baby bell swallowed up momma bell.

 

[slice1900]

Why not just change the law to force the issue.

Dish had to carry all the locals because they are not allowed to offer distant networks.

I don’t see what the issue is to add the other DMA’s

They have spot beams available for some of the markets, but they may not be able to cover them all. I obviously don't know for sure, but I'll bet if they change the law to require Directv to cover all the markets to continue offering DNS, Directv will drop DNS rather than add these markets. They've obviously already decided the cost to cover these markets, even where they have dedicated spot beams available on D14, aren't worth it to them. They'd have to build LRFs in each market, add equipment in the regional uplink facilities to handle them, etc.

If Congress wanted Directv to do this, they should have made it a requirement in the STELA law when it was renewed a decade ago. Seems pointless now that satellite is in permanent decline.

 

[Radioguy41]

Report: DirecTV parent AT&T to phase out satellites in 3 to 5 years ...

Anybody who believes AT&T could successfully transition 20 million DTV accounts to unlimited wireless accounts without overloading their system is delusional, but then it is AT&T. Their service already has trouble keeping up in some areas. So the whole idea behind getting DTV was simply to acquire the customer base and write off all the hardware? So if you can't honestly acquire new customers you decide to try and force someone else's customers to transition to your service? Wow!

 

[Claude Greiner]

They have spot beams available for some of the markets, but they may not be able to cover them all. I obviously don't know for sure, but I'll bet if they change the law to require Directv to cover all the markets to continue offering DNS, Directv will drop DNS rather than add these markets. They've obviously already decided the cost to cover these markets, even where they have dedicated spot beams available on D14, aren't worth it to them. They'd have to build LRFs in each market, add equipment in the regional uplink facilities to handle them, etc.

If Congress wanted Directv to do this, they should have made it a requirement in the STELA law when it was renewed a decade ago. Seems pointless now that satellite is in permanent decline.

I know for Alpena Michigan for example, there are NO locals. I don’t even think they are allowed to bring in distants.

The way the law is written, they can’t bring in a distant signal unless there is no affiliate in that DMA.

So no ABC, means they can only import the ABC from New York. Not all 4

The only reason why Dish had to carry all locals is because they got in trouble selling distant networks to people who otherwise would not qualify.

As far as distant networks, there are very few customers if any left on distant networks today anyways.

Customer orders new service today there is no option to get distant networks. I haven’t discussed distant networks or getting a waiver for a customer for at least 10 years.

Customers in these 12 DMA’s just don’t get Directv. Like customers in New York who need sports don’t get Dish.

 

[dishrich]

I know for Alpena Michigan for example, there are NO locals.

Do you mean that DirecTV does NOT offer ANY locals/networks in that market, or that there are not ANY local network stations actually in that market???

The Alpena DMA has always had PBS & CBS as "local" full-power stations, & that same CBS station now offers FOX & ABC on subchannels (albeit only in SD)...so the only major network(s) missing in that market is NBC & CW. DISH carries all of these stations in that area & imports NBC from Flint...so NO (sensible) reason why DirecTV can't do the same! (& either import the NBC from Flint, or offer NY DNS NBC)
(From DISH's own website)

Alpena, MI - ABC (WBKB3)
SD 12

Alpena, MI - CBS (WBKB)
HD-SD 11

Alpena, MI - FOX (WBKB2)
SD 13

Alpena, MI - PBS (WCML)
HD-SD 6

Flint, MI - NBC (WEYI)
HD-SD 25

 

[slice1900]

Yes there are markets where there aren't affiliates for all four major networks, but there are no markets where there are no affiliates for any of the four major networks.

But it is more than that, there are several markets where D14 has a spot beam dedicated to an unserved market. Ottumwa Iowa, for instance. There's no technical reason why they don't serve that market, the only reason is financial - they must not think it is worth what it will cost to collect the signals and deliver them to customers in that DMA.

Some customers in those DMAs do get Directv, they just get NYC or LA locals instead of their own locals. Some customers probably consider that an advantage. Especially if they can pick up their real locals via antenna, and use an AM21 to get the best of both worlds having their locals and DNS locals. I'd love it if I could get NY or LA locals in addition to my real locals at home, then when there's severe weather and they spend three hours talking about the radar images I wouldn't have to miss what I was trying to record I imagine if Directv took away their DNS to give them their proper locals some people would be happy and some would be unhappy....

 

[Claude Greiner]

There are not many customers that would even consider an antenna these days.

An antenna they would actually have to pay for.

I actually had a customer ask me if they could make payments on an OTA antenna.

Sure! Pay me $50 per week, and in 4-5 weeks once it’s paid for we will come install it

 

[navychop]

Layaway lives!


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