To answer the question about Superstations in HD: The problem is a hazy law. The superstations are expressly mentioned in the SHVA, SHVIA and SHVERA. But the call letters mentioned as -TV, not -DT. (WWOR-TV, not WWOR-DT) So there is no specific copyright / non-duplication exemption in the current law allowing Superstations in High Def. (Remember the SHVERA and its predicessors are enabling laws. Without them the superstations woul dhave been gone 22 years ago). There is the possibility that when the TV stations get turned off, so does the superstation status.
The qualifications for Superstations is simple: Everyone qualifies UNLESS a local station asked Dish to block programming on a Superstation in their market. If a local channel decides to enforce their "Syndicated Exclusivity" on programming and Dish would have to start blocking out programming, the entire superstation is dropped in that area. The LA UPN station insisted on SyndEx so no one in the LA area qualifies for UPN superstations.
And the origin of Superstions on Dish:
When Dish launched the ORIGINAL AT50 for $25 a month (not $24.99, $25.00 even
) KTLA, WSBK, WPIX and WGN were included in the package. See the original AT50 rate card
here.
Later when Dish expanded AT50 and renamed it AT60 in 1998, KTLA, WPIX and WSBK were removed from the AT package and placed into the "Superstations Package. WWOR was added to the package within a month. And 6 months or so later KWGN was added. The package cost $4.99 a month. It went up to $5.99 a month 4 years later, in 2002.
Oh and it used to be that you could bundle 2 sets of networks with Supers for $9.95 a month. You also used to be able to bundle Locals (at the time just the nets and PBS) with Supers for $7.99 a month.
See ya
Tony
