Bonten Media Group......DISPUTE OVER
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They are. Put up an antenna.
while that works fine in some areas, in some parts of markets an antenna wont do much as they are too far away from the towers due to the low power they run off of....but I know you'll just say something like "well then move closer to them"
"I wouldn't say that. What I will say is putting up an antenna will suffice for the MAJORITY of viewers. There are those who MUST rely on satellite/cable. They can then elect to pay for the locals if they want to receive them.while that works fine in some areas, in some parts of markets an antenna wont do much as they are too far away from the towers due to the low power they run off of....but I know you'll just say something like "well then move closer to them"
I would be willing to bet it wouldn't suffice for the majority of the tri cities viewers.Not only are 2 of the channels on VHF but,this is a very rural area with many peaks and valleys.Being a subscriber to Dish,means they were already paying for them,in most cases still paying for them with no service.Only viable option is to switch providers.
Now..with all that said I still support Charlie for not caving in to these broadcasters.Hopefully it will be resolved very soon,not dish Soon.
I agree the Tri Cities area is not real good for ota with the terrain.
The other thing about this is all the mud slinging. If these companies insist on making this a public debacle they should either post facts or settle.
The other thing about this is all the mud slinging. If these companies insist on making this a public debacle they should either post facts or settle.
If they insist on making it a public debacle, then the resultant agreement terms should be public too.
I have always maintained,that at least the local channels and networks,should disclose how much they are paid to be carried by any provider.It'll never happen though.
If the signal will not reach them, why are they considered part of their market? This needs to change. Since the digital transition, the DMA system is all screwed up.while that works fine in some areas, in some parts of markets an antenna wont do much as they are too far away from the towers due to the low power they run off of....but I know you'll just say something like "well then move closer to them"
I think the problem is there are areas that are "in between markets". Where any OTA from any market has problems reaching.
So what do you do with the areas where there is none or very little OTA reception? They are just "no mans land" or are partial areas. The Minneapolis market runs from Iowa all the way to Canada. But once you get out of Minneapolis area you have partial OTA. The northern part of the market is 250 miles away from Minneapolis but is still considered Mpls because the CBS & My (use to be Fox) affiliates have satellite stations there. In that area (Bemidji) you get CBS, PBS and My in digital. There is a low powered Fox and ABC translators still in analog. There is no NBC in the market. The Central portion is just CBS & ABC.
Alot of low powered translators either shut down or are staying analog until the end. By our lake house (130 miles from Mpls) we are considered Minneapolis. Duluth is 90 miles NE of us and until 2008 there were low powered translators of the Big 4 about 20 miles away. Now with digital all we get is PBS & CBS and CBS is about 60 miles away (thank goodness its on VHF)
My buddy use to get one station OTA and that was Fox. He was in the furthest Eastern part of the Fargo market. All the other stations were 70+ miles away (the Fox station tower was about 20 miles away)
How's this for a possible compromise...
Dish agrees to pay what the stations are asking (or at least a higher rate than what they would normally want), but only for those subscribers within 'x' miles or counties of the city of license. These would be folks who COULD be served by OTA, but elect to subscribe to the locals via Dish. Then there's a "donut" area where Dish pays 50%. OTA is an option, but requires an outside tower. Outside that area, no charge.
The goal of this is compromise. Yes, I know there are plenty of people who say locals should be free no matter what. Not going to happen. So lets think outside the box.
Dish agrees to pay what the stations are asking (or at least a higher rate than what they would normally want), but only for those subscribers within 'x' miles or counties of the city of license. These would be folks who COULD be served by OTA, but elect to subscribe to the locals via Dish. Then there's a "donut" area where Dish pays 50%. OTA is an option, but requires an outside tower. Outside that area, no charge.
The goal of this is compromise. Yes, I know there are plenty of people who say locals should be free no matter what. Not going to happen. So lets think outside the box.
Sounds good on the surface, but all that is predicated by the locals allowing the customers inside the donut and donut hole to opt out of receiving (and paying for) their locals thru Dish. Not a chance of that happening.
I think the selling point for the locals is getting more per subscriber for those close to the city of license. That should be where the most viewers are.
Lets say a local is asking for $1/sub. Dish is offering 50 cents. Someone offers 75 cents (for example) for the "Grade A contour", 30 cents for grade B and free outside.
I agree its unlikely to happen but would be an interesting way to pursue the issue.
I am in the Tri-Cities TN area. I am less than 25 miles from these stations and cannot get them OTA. The terrain just does not allow it.
I really do not understand the whole re-broadcast fee thing anyway. I cannot get their station OTA, so I have to go cable or sat. Other than the cable and sat companies providing the uplink equipment and maybe paying for the rack space and electricity, why should there be any other fees involved? The cable and sat companies are providing the local stations a service by putting their programming into more homes.
The whole premise is messed up.
I really do not understand the whole re-broadcast fee thing anyway. I cannot get their station OTA, so I have to go cable or sat. Other than the cable and sat companies providing the uplink equipment and maybe paying for the rack space and electricity, why should there be any other fees involved? The cable and sat companies are providing the local stations a service by putting their programming into more homes.
The whole premise is messed up.
