I know with Comcast I got MOST of the Pittsburgh locals since they were significantly viewed in addition to the wheeling/Steubenville locals.
Was the Local on the 8s overlay just a fluke or did I do something to accidentally disable it?
Also is there a way to look up the installer online?
These are NOT 'significantly viewed' channels.
Cable tv companies are under strict 'must carry' regulations.
These regulations are dictated by distance from transmitters to the cable tv head end.
For example....In New Jersey, cable subs in the northern third of the state receive their locals out of NYC...Those in the southern third, from Philadelphia.
For customers located at the edges of the NYC and PHL market areas, both cities locals are received.
Satellite companies are not under the same 'must carry' regulations. When carriage rules were set for locals delivered by satellite, the decision was to use boundaries set by AC Nielsen. This company decides the boundaries of what are known as "Designated Market Areas" (DMA's)...For the most part these DMA boundaries are determined by zip codes. On occasion, these boundaries are adjusted using a number of criteria. Mostly viewing preferences and other factors
To illustrate...There was a thread a while back where a customer of one of the Satcos who lived near the border of Ohio and West VA. Somewhere near Marietta, OH...This county at one time was in the Columbus DMA...AC Nielsen made an adjustment. The county in question was moved to the Parkersburg, WV DMA. So this customer lost their Columbus channels. And her biggest gripe was that she lost a lot of programming which included Ohio St sports and Ohio centered news.
The irony is that cable customers she knew were receiving Columbus and Parkersburg locals.