Explain the logic here

SamCdbs

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So, Huntington-Charleston, WV market. Two Sinclair stations, 8 and 11, ABC and Fox. So Sinclair has rearranged its sub channel, now 8.2 is "Fox 11" a simulcast of 11.1.

Three possible explanations come to mind:

- Signal quality. Sometimes stations simulcast each other because the different stations have different signal patterns. This cannot be right as both stations are on the same tower and have identical signal pattern, if you can get one, you can get the other.

- Politics. It has always been illegal to own two of the top four stations in a market, but that has never been enforced. Does Sinclair think it actually will have to sell off all of its illegal duopolies?

- $$, theory 1. With Sinclair its always about the $$. Since providers are still going to carry, and pay for, a Fox affiliate, even if it is on a subchannel, could Sinclair be preparing to move something else, maybe Stadium to 11.1, and demand must carry status?

- $$, theory 2. Sinclair is in $$ trouble, because it paid big for the old Fox Sport Net channels, whose main content are local MLB, NHL, and NBA games, just as the panic/pandemic hit and deprived these of that content. Could Sinclair be keeping the Fox affiliation and selling the 11 license, either back to the government, or to another broadcaster without a major affiliation?
 
I have to admit I'm not the one who figured this out, but this seems like the best explanation I've heard:

Sinclair's sidecar companies were recently fined by the FCC for their conduct in negotiating carriage deals with cable and satellite companies.


It is possible that Fox will ultimately leave 11 and allow for Sinclair to do the chasing of retrans dollars directly.

- Trip
 
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LOL, Sinclair owns THREE stations in my DMA. WEYI, WBSF, and WSMH (Fox).

WEYI and WBSF have NBC and CW simulcast. Not only that, BUT, they are now BOTH broadcasting from the SAME tower, just slightly North-East of Clio Michigan.
 
LOL, Sinclair owns THREE stations in my DMA. WEYI, WBSF, and WSMH (Fox).

WEYI and WBSF have NBC and CW simulcast. Not only that, BUT, they are now BOTH broadcasting from the SAME tower, just slightly North-East of Clio Michigan.
That Clio tower is very tall, can be seen for miles. My parents lived in Harrison (78 miles away) and could receive WEYI when it was analog. It was fairly clear, too.
 
So, today, Sinclair rearranges the channels in question. The (virtual) 8 signal becomes 8.1 ABC, 8.2 Fox 11 (rebranded as "Fox 11, WCHS-8.2), and 8.3 Antenna; and the (virtual) 11 signal becomes 11.1 Decades (branded as WVAH-11, Decades), 11.2 Stadium, 11.3 Comet, 11.4 Charge, and 11.5 TBD.

DirecTV moves its Fox signal from 11, where it was branded as "WVAH 11" to 9 (an unused channel in this market, standard DirecTV practice when carrying a sub-channel is to use the next highest unused channel number, they carry 3.2, a Me affiliate here on 4) where it is labeled at "WCHS-DT2" but has not added anything in the old 11 slot. Again, the motivation escapes me. Sinclair went to a lot of trouble if the ultimate goal is to force must carry of a rerun channel from 1965.
 
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