renting TP space

[brians0105]

i know a bit off topic, but i know a guy who has an old uplink dish setup on a towable flatbed , he does not have it for sale, but he has told me that if i wanted to buy it he would try and help me with a liveable deal,( i have a daughter with a medical situation which now has me looking for new work)so my question is, for you guys in the KNOW,, is that service really still viable??rental uplinks???
thanks for any input
but on topic,,, isnt there a sub forum specifically for amatuer ku band radio?

From my experience working just part time for certain events with satellite uplinks, it is hard to get started because once a client uses a truck, they stick with the same uplink operator for all of their productions.

Another thing to consider is redundancy. Most places like FOX News, ESPN, etc. are going to want you to have at LEAST dual path capable setups. If path one goes down, you should be able to hot-switch over to path 2, 3, or 4. These extra paths obviously are going to cost some $$$ for you.

But who knows, with the trailer, you could find some start up jobs, and work up. What all is on the trailer?

 

[TiminMb]

You must not be tuned to the same FTA satellites as I am tuned to. For me its rare to run into Religious FTA channels.

By that I mean the stations we mostly watch are not intended for us to view them. They just happen to be available to us because we know where to look and they are not scrambled. They are being sent on Ku for some purpose other than you and I watching them. Broadcasting FTA in North America is in the minority of the stations I see on Ku at least. Or do you have some examples of North American broadcasting via FTA?

 

[aaron01]

Or do you have some examples of North American broadcasting via FTA?

How about the Equity stations on G10?

 

[Keith Brannen]

How about the Equity stations on G10?

As TiminMb points out, we FTAers are not their intended target/audience, we are just extremely fortunate they broadcast FTA.

One channel that does actively promote their FTA status is White Springs TV

 

[TiminMb]

As TiminMb points out, we FTAers are not their intended target/audience, we are just extremely fortunate they broadcast FTA.

One channel that does actively promote their FTA status is White Springs TV

Thanks. I did not know about that station. I've now scanned it in and went to their website. They have some cool old movies. Classics and not so classics. Ed Wood, George Romero, even a pre-Star Trek Shatner in "Incubus".

So what holds back a station from broadcasting on FTA? Is it the cost of rights to the shows for such a wide audience? I mean, if I'm already running a local station and its programming, is the added cost of carrying it on a satellite not less than the added commercial revenue from reaching a wider audience? Or are there licencing issues for the broadcast material? For instance, in Canada, content is regulated to ensure a certain % of Canadian content. Similar laws in the US?

 

[iafirebuff]

I like White Springs. I find a movie or 2 to watch on there every now and then

 

[Mr Tony]

T
So what holds back a station from broadcasting on FTA? Is it the cost of rights to the shows for such a wide audience? I mean, if I'm already running a local station and its programming, is the added cost of carrying it on a satellite not less than the added commercial revenue from reaching a wider audience? Or are there licencing issues for the broadcast material? For instance, in Canada, content is regulated to ensure a certain % of Canadian content. Similar laws in the US?

most programmers figure they can sell to Dish or Direct and get a wider audience by making them subscribe. Globecast is a perfect example. People will pay $20-$30 a channel just to have their "homeland" channel

There are no CanCon rules in the US (you know what I mean). For the people who don't know, most Canadian TV and radio channels have to have x amount of Canadian material on their channel. Thats why on some radio stations you hear the Tragically Hip or Rush once an hour

 

[Keith Brannen]

most programmers figure they can sell to Dish or Direct and get a wider audience by making them subscribe. Globecast is a perfect example. People will pay $20-$30 a channel just to have their "homeland" channel

From what I understand, in the US you are restricted to only your locals on Dish or Directv, unlike here in Canada where we get locals from across the country on our two satellite systems (as well as cable systems). Are there any laws/reasons why a US independent or network local station couldn't go FTA?

 

[techpuppy]

Independent FTA

I don't believe there are any laws that would prevent anyone from launching an FTA channel, video or audio. After all, Ted Turner put his WTBS up on satellite years ago and look what it grew into. Now it's scrambled...so much for appreciation. The biggest problem would be program clearances and fees. If you created original programming or used public domain programming there wouldn't be much of a problem. That's why the religious channels are so prevalent on FTA. They don't have to pay anyone for most of their programming. White Springs is a good example of a broadcaster trying to exist using FTA. I hope they make it. It would show others that there is an audience for FTA. White Springs can add more channel capacity according to their web site.

A network local station would have a hard time promoting FTA because of program clearance. For example, if a small market NBC affiliate decided to promote FTA to gain an audience, larger affiliates would complain that their local advertising was not being seen in their market on FTA. Then there are syndicated shows. A major market station pays a much higher rate for rights to a show than a smaller market station. So the large market station isn't going to be happy paying $100,000 for a program if a small station pays $15,000 and sends it out FTA, possibly to be received by people in the larger station's market. That's why many of the stations we receive FTA don't actively promote FTA.

As far as audio channels go, I had experience a long time ago with analog audio on C-band. It wasn't very expensive as the station I worked for provided the programming to a company who leased channels. The station didn't have to buy any of the satellite equipment for uplinking. All we had to do was get the audio to the uplink facility. If you were planning on playing music the licensing costs of that can be prohibitive. "Unreasonable" would be my description.

Although it doesn't reach a nationwide audience and very little of a local one, you can legally broadcast in the U.S. if you follow part 15 rules for very low power transmitters. There's also carrier current which sends an AM signal through power lines and can cover an entire community without the need for a license. I'm part of a group that does part 15 broadcasting in a couple of area towns. We don't use commercial music and feature a community & talk format. It's not a huge audience, but does get some listeners. It might be a way for you to try broadcasting to experience the work involved. There are a lot of hours in a week to fill up and just rerunning the same stuff over and over will not attract a steady audience.

 

[Keith Brannen]

I don't believe there are any laws that would prevent anyone from launching an FTA channel, video or audio. After all, Ted Turner put his WTBS up on satellite years ago and look what it grew into. Now it's scrambled...so much for appreciation. The biggest problem would be program clearances and fees. If you created original programming or used public domain programming there wouldn't be much of a problem. That's why the religious channels are so prevalent on FTA. They don't have to pay anyone for most of their programming. White Springs is a good example of a broadcaster trying to exist using FTA. I hope they make it. It would show others that there is an audience for FTA. White Springs can add more channel capacity according to their web site.

A network local station would have a hard time promoting FTA because of program clearance. For example, if a small market NBC affiliate decided to promote FTA to gain an audience, larger affiliates would complain that their local advertising was not being seen in their market on FTA. Then there are syndicated shows. A major market station pays a much higher rate for rights to a show than a smaller market station. So the large market station isn't going to be happy paying $100,000 for a program if a small station pays $15,000 and sends it out FTA, possibly to be received by people in the larger station's market. That's why many of the stations we receive FTA don't actively promote FTA.

Thanks for the information. So putting your post together with what Iceberg said:

1) So-called specialty or non-OTA channels will be looking for Dish or Directv or cable subscriptions.

2) Independents or network locals have a problem with program clearance, and perceived/real infringement of other markets (unless they invest in nation-wide clearance for a program).

So, bascially we are out of luck, unless more stations like White Springs TV take the plunge into FTA!