Steely
Dumped Comcast for FiOS
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Princeton Junction, NJ
| reply to PGHammer
Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ
said by PGHammer  :Both stations are NBC owned and operated; so it had to be with the explicit consent of NBC. In fact, it may have been at the *request* of NBC... In addition to my initial phone conversation with a CSR rep stationed in Eatontown, NJ, I've had detailed e-mail correspondence with two "Comcast Customer Care Specialists" and all three have stated or implied that the decision to remove WCAU and WNBC from analog in the respective outside market areas was one made by Comcast as a first or early step in transitioning to all-digital. While NBC or the respective local stations may have consented, I didn't get the impression they had initiated these changes. |
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PGHammer
join:2003-06-09
Accokeek, MD
clubs:
 ·Comcast
| reply to celeritypc
Both stations are NBC owned and operated; so it had to be with the explicit consent of NBC. In fact, it may have been at the *request* of NBC, as that most programming (likely pretty much *all* non-local programming) was duplicated on the two stations. This is similar to the infamous *syndex* rule, and (unfortunately) makes sense. |
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celeritypc
For Lucky Best Wash, Use Mr. Sparkle
Premium
join:2004-05-15
Caldwell, NJ
| reply to Steely
said by Steely :The first steps to finding a solution do not necessarily involve the purchase and installation of expensive and cumbersome roof antennas and rotors. There are other avenues to pursue before going to that extreme. People in the affected area are calling and writing to various agencies including Comcast and the respective NBC channels. Although it may not have the desired effect, I think that's a sensible start. You are correct. If you are unhappy with the change, you should contact the respective parties involved (Comcast, WCAU, WNBC, etc.) It seems that several issues are driving this with the problem that people seem to want to have their cake and eat it too.
1. Ocean is in the NYC DMA and Mercer is in Philly. Because of this, cable companies are only required to negotiate for the in-market OTAs. Adjacent market OTAs are optional, not mandatory.
2. A majority of the programming on the channels is duplicated. WCAU and WNBC pretty much have the same programming, especially the network portion.
3. Cable subscribers are demanding new services and channels while the cable companies have bandwidth constraints.
4. All OTA is moving to digital transmission by 2010, thus requiring a digital box of some sort for non-cable subscribers.
5. In the case of Comcast, they are not eliminating the duplicate network, just moving it to digital (my guess is that it is available with enhanced basic or limited basic with a digital box.)
6. At this time, it only applies to NBC. If it is indeed a Comcast decision, it was made with the implicit consent of NBC. I'm sure NBC got something out of the deal. It is possible that NBC wanted to up the amount Comcast had to pay for the out of market channel and placing it on digital was a compromise from dropping it completely. |
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Steely
Dumped Comcast for FiOS
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Princeton Junction, NJ
| reply to mbernste
Just because people may not know how to respond effectively in this situation doesn't mean they don't deserve to receive the channels.
The first steps to finding a solution do not necessarily involve the purchase and installation of expensive and cumbersome roof antennas and rotors. There are other avenues to pursue before going to that extreme. People in the affected area are calling and writing to various agencies including Comcast and the respective NBC channels. Although it may not have the desired effect, I think that's a sensible start. |
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mbernste
Boosted
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
·Comcast
·Optimum Online
| reply to Steely
said by Steely :In the old days folks in central NJ desiring to receive the maximum amount of channels would mount quality antennas on their roofs and then rotate them either mechanically or manually as needed for optimum reception. Nobody's going to do that now. Well, if the people affected are unwilling to take matters into their own hands and implement their own solution, they deserve to not receive the channels. |
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Steely
Dumped Comcast for FiOS
Premium
join:2000-10-15
Princeton Junction, NJ
| reply to mbernste
said by mbernste :There's always another option. If you can't afford digital cable (and many can't), go back to rabbit ears until the FCC mandated digital switchover. Although in theory your suggestion is a decent one, the problem with using rabbit ears is that many of the affected areas (parts of Mercer and Ocean counties, for example) are far enough from NYC, Philly or both that OTA reception would be challenging at the very least. In the old days folks in central NJ desiring to receive the maximum amount of channels would mount quality antennas on their roofs and then rotate them either mechanically or manually as needed for optimum reception. Nobody's going to do that now. |
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