OK, what do I do if my local NBC (WGAL-TV) loses it's carriage with DirecTv? They are negotiating right now, but only have until Jan 1. If DirecTv drops them, what can I do to get this local NBC station? If it matters, the actual station is located but 2-3 miles from my house.
Local NBC station to drop carriage with DirecTv
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If they are that close to your house, you can probably get them with a coat hanger! Seriously, if you want to get them ota, you can likely get them with a small antenna and the tuner in your tv, assuming you have an ATSC tuner in it. If not, you can get an AM21 ota tuner from Directv that integrates with the H/HR series boxes.
I have the HR24-500, but since I get my locals, I didn't need the AM-21. So, if I do get the AM-21, I would still be able to get my local NBC station, even though DirecTv might drop the carriage? And with the HR24-500 and the AM-21....could I continue to use my HR24-500 to watch my local ABC and CBS stations and choose to watch NBC using the AM-21, or would all my locals then be required to be received by the AM-21? I ask only because of some of the compatibility issues the HR24-500 and the AM-21 have when it comes to recording.....
Also, I use my receiver to get DD 5.1 with my HR24-500, so I assume using my TV's internal ATSC tuner would require to use the TV speakers? If so, forget that.
The dispute will likely be rather short; pulling in the local via OTA to the TV would be VERY temporary and inexpensive. Sure would't go to any great expense. All my TV's are used only as monitors so I don't have these issues but I hear ya... (no pun intended)
Here is the story:
DIRECTV Could Lose 30 Local Channels
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (December 12, 2010) -- Hearst Television is warning that DIRECTV will lose the right to carry roughly 30 local stations on January 1 if the two companies don't reach a new programming pact by then.
If a new agreement is not reached, DIRECTV viewers of those stations would lose both their SD and HD signals.
The Hearst announcement is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle between programmers and TV providers over carriage fees. Subscribers to DIRECTV, Dish Network, Cablevision and others have lost access to their favorite channels for a period of time this year because their providers could not reach a new agreement before the old one expired..
In a statement released over the weekend, Hearst expressed confidence that it would reach a new deal with DIRECTV, but it said it wanted to alert the satcaster's viewers that they could lose the channels.
“We believe that we and DirecTV can conclude our negotiations before January 1st so as not to deprive any of our respective viewers and customers of our programming. However, we want to advise our viewers and customers that the possibility of non-renewal of our current agreement exists," the statement read.
By federal law, a TV provider can not carry a channel without its consent. The Hearst channels that could be pulled from DIRECTV are:
Boston WCVB
Manchester, NH WMUR
Tampa, Florida WMOR
Daytona Beach, Florida WESH
Clermont, Florida WKCF
Sacramento KCRA KQCA
Pittsburgh WTAE
Baltimore WBAL
Kansas City, Missouri KMBC
Cincinnati WLWT
Milwaukee WISN
Greenville, SC WYFF
West Palm Beach WPBF
Lancaster, PA WGAL
Oklahoma City KOCO
Albuquerque KOAT
Winston Salem WXII
Louisville WLKY
New Orleans WDSU
Honolulu KITV
Hilo, Hawaii KHVO
Wailuku, Hawaii KMAU
Des Moines KCCI
Omaha KETV
Poland Spring, Maine WMTW
Jackson, MS WAPT
Burlington, Vermont WPTZ
Hartford, Vermont WNNE
Fort Smith, Arkansas KHBS, KHOG
Salinas, CA KSBW
DIRECTV Could Lose 30 Local Channels
By Swanni
Washington, D.C. (December 12, 2010) -- Hearst Television is warning that DIRECTV will lose the right to carry roughly 30 local stations on January 1 if the two companies don't reach a new programming pact by then.
If a new agreement is not reached, DIRECTV viewers of those stations would lose both their SD and HD signals.
The Hearst announcement is the latest salvo in the ongoing battle between programmers and TV providers over carriage fees. Subscribers to DIRECTV, Dish Network, Cablevision and others have lost access to their favorite channels for a period of time this year because their providers could not reach a new agreement before the old one expired..
In a statement released over the weekend, Hearst expressed confidence that it would reach a new deal with DIRECTV, but it said it wanted to alert the satcaster's viewers that they could lose the channels.
“We believe that we and DirecTV can conclude our negotiations before January 1st so as not to deprive any of our respective viewers and customers of our programming. However, we want to advise our viewers and customers that the possibility of non-renewal of our current agreement exists," the statement read.
By federal law, a TV provider can not carry a channel without its consent. The Hearst channels that could be pulled from DIRECTV are:
Boston WCVB
Manchester, NH WMUR
Tampa, Florida WMOR
Daytona Beach, Florida WESH
Clermont, Florida WKCF
Sacramento KCRA KQCA
Pittsburgh WTAE
Baltimore WBAL
Kansas City, Missouri KMBC
Cincinnati WLWT
Milwaukee WISN
Greenville, SC WYFF
West Palm Beach WPBF
Lancaster, PA WGAL
Oklahoma City KOCO
Albuquerque KOAT
Winston Salem WXII
Louisville WLKY
New Orleans WDSU
Honolulu KITV
Hilo, Hawaii KHVO
Wailuku, Hawaii KMAU
Des Moines KCCI
Omaha KETV
Poland Spring, Maine WMTW
Jackson, MS WAPT
Burlington, Vermont WPTZ
Hartford, Vermont WNNE
Fort Smith, Arkansas KHBS, KHOG
Salinas, CA KSBW
LOL "Hearst Television is warning"
Something REALLY needs to be done to these affiliates and their parent companies. ARGH All over local ad revenue protections..
Something REALLY needs to be done to these affiliates and their parent companies. ARGH All over local ad revenue protections..
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I just hope that they are close to agreeing on a figure. Losing any local station would be a real PIA. I guess I could go with the AM-21, but that is an additional (short-term) expense I would not rather pay for obvious reasons. I assume if they don't agree by Jan 1, they would continue to work on an agreement, or would that be it for the foreseeable future?
You would still get your locals that are carried by Directv, but you could watch them through the AM21. As to the audio, you could use a Toslink cable from your television to your audio receiver, assuming your television has that output. If not, perhaps you have a coax digital output you can use. BTW, I have the HR24-500 and have never had any issues with recording from the AM21, although I have read about them.
I do have a toslink cable that I am not using. Not sure about the TV, but it is a Sammy LCD 46" A650. It is about 2 years old. My receiver is a Pioneer SC-05, so I know it has it. But, if using this form of audio, I would need to change from the HDMI output to the toslink output whenever on that channel, which again becomes a PIA. It seems I would just use the AM-21 and solve it the easy way, as you can't put a price on convenience/laziness.
I do have a toslink cable that I am not using. Not sure about the TV, but it is a Sammy LCD 46" A650. It is about 2 years old. My receiver is a Pioneer SC-05, so I know it has it. But, if using this form of audio, I would need to change from the HDMI output to the toslink output whenever on that channel, which again becomes a PIA. It seems I would just use the AM-21 and solve it the easy way, as you can't put a price on convenience/laziness.
All you would have to do is use the ota tuner in the tv and the toslink input on the audio receiver. This isn't rocket science!
Oh noes! I thought evil Charlie was the only one who got in programming disputes! Come on everybody! Let's get indignant and threaten to switch right now!
Then there needs to be some federal legislation that requires the broadcasters to provide a decent signal OTA to those people who live in the fringe area. I went though this with Dish a couple years ago and lost a Seattle station (CBS??). The problem is the OTA signal was unwatchable. As part of their license, the need to be required to provide an HD signal to everyone in the broadcast zone (or what ever it is called) or allow the satellite providers to import a signal to those who can't receive an OTA signal. The funny part is where I live, if I subscribe to cable, I an get the national stations from both Seattle and Spokane but with satellite, it is Seattle only. I am 140 miles from Seattle and the Cascade range sits between me and them.
This is a non issue Hearst release a similar statment when dish was about to redo there contract with them nothing more then scare tatics.
I agree. Since the digitial transition last year, the signals are weak to get OTA. In my area, I've tried to get a decent signal OTA on my handheld Digital TV. Unfortunately, it's a no show. Retransmission disputes are now too common these days and 2010 was a notorious year for disputes, I know the economy isn't doing well. Sign the petition at American Television Alliance | A Voice For The TV Viewer today.
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I, too, am within WGAL's viewing territory (Harrisburg, here). I had no idea this was going on. It'd suck to mod my system any more than it is for OTA but if I have to, I will! My wife barely understands how to work DTV, adding another non-DVR viewing element likely will make her explode.
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