Regional PBS Channels

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kstuart

kstuart

SatelliteGuys Master
Original poster
Nov 5, 2006
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Northern California
This is new in the list of programming available in online account maintenance (in the same section where you can add superstations):

Regional Channels PBS Alabama $2.00 PBS Anchorage $2.00 PBS Arkansas $2.00 PBS Georgia $2.00 PBS Kentucky $2.00 PBS Mississippi $2.00 PBS Network $2.00 PBS Vermont $2.00
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It is greyed out (either because I do not live in those states, or because it is not yet available).

Perhaps this has something to do with the 30 PBS channels that signed an agreement with Dish Network...
 
I wonder if Dish is splitting the revenue with the stations. It could be a good way for the PBS stations to raise money if they get sub fees for out of markets subs.
 
kstuart said:
Perhaps this has something to do with the 30 PBS channels that signed an agreement with Dish Network...
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Rumor is that Dish Network signed with PBS (the mothership) instead of APTS. And PBS can definitely represent PBS stations.
mike123abc said:
I wonder if Dish is splitting the revenue with the stations. It could be a good way for the PBS stations to raise money if they get sub fees for out of markets subs.
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Impossible. PBS stations (as all non-commerical stations) cannot charge for carriage. And using the local-into-local license they certainly cannot be rebroadcast out of market.
47HO said:
I checked it and the state I reside in (Alabama) was the only one not greyed out.
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The big question is can you subscribe to them?
 
Greg Bimson said:
Rumor is that Dish Network signed with PBS (the mothership) instead of APTS. And PBS can definitely represent PBS stations.Impossible. PBS stations (as all non-commerical stations) cannot charge for carriage. And using the local-into-local license they certainly cannot be rebroadcast out of market.The big question is can you subscribe to them?
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Not a rumor, Dish has, indeed, agreed to provide about 25 (less than 30) select PBS stations in HD in order to avoid being compelled to provide ALL PBS stations in HD in all the DMA's where they offer HD, and they agreed just about a day before the deadline!

This option satisfies requirements of the law that now allow Dish to offer out of market locals that a court ruling had barred them from doing. So, Dish swallowed the least bitter pill so that they can provide those out of market locals. Dish is still a bit pissed about it as it messes up their business plan and most likely delays, for certain, all RSN's in HD full-time, a legitimate sore point for many forum members. Well, at least we will be getting some form of PBS in HD soon.
 
I contacted Alabama Public Television earlier and their engineering department said that they had no idea when Dish would offer APT in HD. They stated that Dish Network had not contacted them as of yet. I do not know how true those statements are though.
 
DishSubLA said:
Not a rumor, Dish has, indeed, agreed to provide about 25 (less than 30) select PBS stations in HD in order to avoid being compelled to provide ALL PBS stations in HD in all the DMA's where they offer HD, and they agreed just about a day before the deadline!
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The problem wasn't agreeing "to provide about 25 (less than 30) select PBS stations. That deadline was for Dish Network to sign an agreement with an organization representing 30 or more non-commercial stations. All of the other providers signed a master carriage agreement with the Association of America's Public Television Stations (APTS). Dish Network would not come to an agreement with APTS, but signing multiple carriage agreements with PBS doesn't satisfy the law. The rumor is that Dish Network signed a master agreement with PBS, the network, based in Alexandria, VA. Now each PBS affiliate can sign an agreement with Dish Network to start carriage.
bobvick said:
I contacted Alabama Public Television earlier and their engineering department said that they had no idea when Dish would offer APT in HD. They stated that Dish Network had not contacted them as of yet. I do not know how true those statements are though.
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There is another story about another of the PBS stations. No one seems to know whether or not contact has been established with stations.
 
Nice! We have no local PBS station anymore so Dish rebroadcasts one from a neighboring market in SD. I contacted the station a while back and was told it was up to Dish to offer HD since the station provides Dish both feeds (HD and SD), and a contact to Dish just said they'd look into it.

If I could subscribe to a national or even state-wide PBS service that is in HD I'd definitely jump on it.
 
kstuart said:
This is new in the list of programming available in online account maintenance (in the same section where you can add superstations):



It is greyed out (either because I do not live in those states, or because it is not yet available).

Perhaps this has something to do with the 30 PBS channels that signed an agreement with Dish Network...
Click to expand...

I'm sure it's no coincidence that those are all states with a statewide network of PBS stations that simulcast the same broadcast. It seems unlikely that they would make them available to customers in other states, but it's odd that they have them up there for $2 as if they are going to charge for them.
 
I just noticed that one of the choices is "PBS Network" - so perhaps the deal finally includes the capability to provide a national PBS feed to those who are not served by a local PBS.

I also noticed that packages already subscribed are greyed out (such as my Cinemax), so the PBS fee may only be charged for those who don't already have locals and want it a la carte.
 
DishSubLA said:
Dish is still a bit pissed about it as it messes up their business plan and most likely delays, for certain, all RSN's in HD full-time, a legitimate sore point for many forum members.
Click to expand...

Yet another bit of misinformation about full-time HD RSNs.

PBS HD channels will all be on spot beams.

HD RSNs will all be on CONUS transponders.

So, PBS HD channels do not delay full-time HD RSNs - they only delay putting up more ABC/CBS/NBC/FOX channels in HD.

Dish could do full-time HD RSNs today simply by turning off some of the PPV movie channels...
 
I'm sure it's no coincidence that those are all states with a statewide network of PBS stations that simulcast the same broadcast
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what's interesting is Anchorage is its own PBS (KAKM) while Juneau, Kodiak and Fairbanks are its own (Alaska One) state wide program...so its actually backwards there....
 
Greg Bimson said:
The problem wasn't agreeing "to provide about 25 (less than 30) select PBS stations. That deadline was for Dish Network to sign an agreement with an organization representing 30 or more non-commercial stations. All of the other providers signed a master carriage agreement with the Association of America's Public Television Stations (APTS). Dish Network would not come to an agreement with APTS, but signing multiple carriage agreements with PBS doesn't satisfy the law. The rumor is that Dish Network signed a master agreement with PBS, the network, based in Alexandria, VA. Now each PBS affiliate can sign an agreement with Dish Network to start carriage.There is another story about another of the PBS stations. No one seems to know whether or not contact has been established with stations.
Click to expand...

My information came from a recent news article, but knowing how the press gets it wrong far too often, your version makes more sense.

However, the agreement for the providing the small number of "non-commercial" stations that the article cited as "PBS" stations, in HD does trigger a provision in legislation that allows Dish to delay the required implementation of providing local PBS stations in HD where they provide LIL HD local back a few years, to 2012, I believe, and that was the whole point of Dish taking the option of fewer channels now because they won't have the capacity until then, otherwise Charlie had no interest in having his limited bandwidth sucked up by it, and his to the last day of the deadline to agree demonstrates how much he probably loathes it.
 
bamaweather said:
I'm sure it's no coincidence that those are all states with a statewide network of PBS stations that simulcast the same broadcast.
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Pretty smart of them, and something I speculated about earlier this year.
Fox example, GPT (Georgia Public Television) will count as 9 stations for the bandwidth count of 1 station. This allows Dish to easily match the X number of stations requirement.

*interesting note, the page showing the Regional PBS's has Playboy en Espanol at a cost of $0.00, hmm...
 

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