Yes, thanks for the explanation, the point I was making is that the actual signal being transmitted to SF is not the same signal being transmitted to Atlanta, even though they are locally the same channel number. IOW, channel 96 has become part of the local channel lineup, just like your 2 through whatever even though it still resides where the bulk of the national HD channels are in the guide.
Question, how large can these spotbeams be? For example, FSNBA covers the cities of SF, Sac, Reno, Fresno and maybe a few more...now being that these cities/markets all have their own HD locals will the FSNBA feed be available to markets outside of SF? It should be, but I don't know if it actually is, yet.