DISH Takes Locals List to 100 Markets

[silversurfer]

From our friends at SkyReport.com

EchoStar DISH Network claimed another satellite TV milestone: It now provides satellite-delivered local TV channels in 100 markets.

Charleston-Huntington, W. Va., became the milestone market in the company's ongoing local TV via satellite efforts. The city was added Thursday. Also joining the list are Milwaukee, Wis., Lansing, Mich., Flint, Mich., Champaign and Springfield-Decatur, Ill., and Hartford, Conn.

DISH Network offers local channels in a footprint that covers 90 million TV households in 44 states and the District of Columbia, representing more than 83 percent of the population.

The company first rolled out local channels in 13 markets during November 1999

 

[TheForce]

In the program to add more and more locals without using spotbeams it is being wasteful of precious satellite capacity. IT is beaming signal into areas it does not and can not sell, using up satellite capacity for TV programming that could use a national footprint and be sold throughout the US.

Support a call for the FCC to outlaw LIL (Local into Local) signals until such time as spot beams can be used in an effort to conserve our satellite resources.

Local broadcast stations have restrictive signal patterns and so should the satellite DBS providers be restrictive too, now that we do have the technology. Do not allow LIL until spot beams are available.

 

[Mr Tony]

Local broadcast stations have restrictive signal patterns and so should the satellite DBS providers be restrictive too, now that we do have the technology. Do not allow LIL until spot beams are available.

I hate to burst your bubble, but DBS are restrictive...its called "You only can get locals from your DMA and you have to qualify to get them"

Where I live, I can get both Minneapolis locals & Duluth locals off an antenna due to translators (Im too far from both main towers), yet I can only qualify for Minneapolis stations through Dish. But people with cable can get 3 more network stations than I can get (they can get NBC & ABC from Duluth & PBS from Brainerd...I could get Brainerd, but they cant get a good signal to the POP due to being 150+ miles from it)

Is that fair??

Dish is putting up a new satellite that will have spotbeam capability, allowing SuperDish to have spotbeams. They just want to get ahead of Direct in the LIL game (since Direct hasnt launched their new satellite yet)

 

[Tampa8]

A good portion of course are already on spotbeam. Eventually more will be. To stop adding markets would be stupid, it is one of or THE driving force to add subscribers. Dish took the risk to start adding locals before Direct was willing to and Direct had to catch up because Dish was adding subscribers at a much faster rate than Direct. To be THE choice instead of A choice you have to have locals and that has been proven. I even go one step more, I think they are going to have to find a way to broadcast all the networks in HD as more and more people get HD. If cable does it they will have to, even if cable does not, all the more reason to do it. Adding a few more cable channels would not come close to getting more subscribers as compared to having the locals.

 

[James Long]

See reply in other forum. I dislike identical posts to both forums.

JL

 

[Stargazer]

You say that until its YOUR market that dont have the locals and requires the SuperDish to get them as people have waited for several years to get their locals on satellite because they cant get them on an OTA antenna and there is no cable or sucky cable (15-25 channel available, thats it) in the area that you live in.

 

[Tampa8]

You say that until its YOUR market that dont have the locals and requires the SuperDish to get them as people have waited for several years to get their locals on satellite because they cant get them on an OTA antenna and there is no cable or sucky cable (15-25 channel available, thats it) in the area that you live in.

Exactly. That's the edge DBS has and has to keep.

 

[Stargazer]

Sometimes you have to go out of your way like installing a larger dish and use what satellite capability you can get, to do what it takes in which may require more, in order to get things that you normally could not get such as broadband internet, locals, and other things that may come our way in the future.

 

[aperry]

They may have 100 markets available, but you may not be able to upgrade to a Superdish without a really long wait (my mother-in-law is scheduled for her Superdish installation on March 31, 2004). She is trying locally to see if she can get it sooner, but not having much luck there either...

So, 100 markets available, but how many can you actually get without such a long wait?

 

[Stargazer]

You have to search of a retailer that may be able to schedule you in a lot sooner. The demand outweights the supply in this case. Not enough people and supply to keep up with demand.