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rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay

rebus9 to HDOrlando

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to HDOrlando

Re: [TV] A different NBC affiliate

said by HDOrlando:

WESH/WKCF/This TV/ME TV will be back within a few weeks.

These local station disputes do not last long and Hearst is not going to want WESH to lose out on all of the ad dollars/promotion of their newscasts during The Olympics.

IMO, these local affiliate disputes are the ultimate in stupidity (on the part of the station), because anyone with an antenna can watch them for free.

Or am I missing the point? Does the affiliate pay BHN to carry the channel? Or does BHN pay the affiliate for the right to retransmit their content?
k2rj
Premium Member
join:2005-03-24
Cape Canaveral, FL

k2rj

Premium Member

said by rebus9:

said by HDOrlando:

WESH/WKCF/This TV/ME TV will be back within a few weeks.

These local station disputes do not last long and Hearst is not going to want WESH to lose out on all of the ad dollars/promotion of their newscasts during The Olympics.

IMO, these local affiliate disputes are the ultimate in stupidity (on the part of the station), because anyone with an antenna can watch them for free.

Or am I missing the point? Does the affiliate pay BHN to carry the channel? Or does BHN pay the affiliate for the right to retransmit their content?

The latter. Since the local station is an FCC licensee with a statutory responsibility to serve in the public interest per the terms of their license, they have little leg to stand on (morally, not legally) to pull stunts like this. If they had to depend upon their on-air signal to justify their ad rates, they'd not be able to do it. Nationally, I believe the percentage of over-the-air viewers is down to 10 percent or so.

rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay

rebus9

Member

said by k2rj:

The latter. Since the local station is an FCC licensee with a statutory responsibility to serve in the public interest per the terms of their license, they have little leg to stand on (morally, not legally) to pull stunts like this. If they had to depend upon their on-air signal to justify their ad rates, they'd not be able to do it. Nationally, I believe the percentage of over-the-air viewers is down to 10 percent or so.

So WESH is apparently holding out for more money. Meanwhile the viewers are watching competing local affiliates instead, and (if your 10% figure is correct) their advertisers are unable to reach 90% of their audience. Yeah, WESH, that's real smart business.

I'm proud to be among the 10% getting content OTA. I've never had cable TV. Ever. I've watched cable programming at motels and while visiting family, but have always found it to be 500 channels of nothing to watch.

Instead, we have the largest outdoor antenna that Radio Shack makes, mounted inside our attic away from lightning and hidden from view (outdoor antennas are eyesores). I pull in about 30 local channels, crystal clear and many in HD. About the only thing we watch over-the-air is the nightly news, or weather reports during a storm.

The only thing we pay for is an $8 subscription to Netflix streaming, coupled with all the titles we get as a free bonus for being an Amazon.com Prime member. All combined, it's more programming than the entire household is able to consume. All for less than $100 a year.

opp
@bhn.net

opp

Anon

Got the rabbit ears hooked up to watch svengoolie tonight. Been meaning to put a outdoor antenna up, guess this will be the motivation.

Flashfox
Eco-Text -- Why print E-mails?
join:2003-10-01
Carlsbad, CA

Flashfox to rebus9

Member

to rebus9
As others have noted. this "poker game" between BHN and Hearst will not help WESH. If they do not return to BHN they will have less viewers. Less viewers = less ad revenue.

So I agree that they will cave in and return or they will be struggling for money. Advertisers don't like to lose ~50% of their audience without requiring a commensurate drop in the rates

rebus9
join:2002-03-26
Tampa Bay

rebus9 to opp

Member

to opp
said by opp :

Got the rabbit ears hooked up to watch svengoolie tonight. Been meaning to put a outdoor antenna up, guess this will be the motivation.

So much the better if you can mount it in your attic, hidden from view and safe from lightning.

We're lucky that nearly all of the broadcast stations have their towers concentrated in a small geographic area. The antenna is fixed, pointing in one direction and catches nearly all signals head-on. The only tower I'm aware of that's not ESE of us is close enough (signal strong enough) that the antenna doesn't need to be pointed straight at it to get good reception.