Carriage Dispute Healing

Part graffiti, part abstract art, part ransom note!

The TV business, like life, is one big Whack-a-Mole! Until Congress stop messing about (don't get me started), laws not upgraded since the Clinton administration will keep cable and satellite providers and broadcasters and networks, as well as the taxpayers to their own devices. Once again, I had to go beyond earthly means as described in the last post.  This time, the list on the left says Dish, DirecTV, Comcast Xfinity (Comcast as both owner of NBC O&OS like NBC 4 in NYC and LA and with the telecom Xfinity), and on the right, Hearst, Nexstar, Mission, Cox and Comcast again. The peace symbol from the previous entry is in the middle. I had to edit out typos and unrelated names on the desktop, which is why it now looks like a mishmash and so I wouldn't have to upload a hard copy all over again. Of course, this will only happen again, and I just can't keep up. Hearst owned many newspapers in the postwar era (I just know the Albany one), and are now a minority owner of ESPN, which is dominated by Disney, yet only have NBC 5 in Clinton County in my state. I took off Dish a while ago due to downsizing and other personal reasons. I drew one of these for the UAW strike too, but they're having less trouble by comparison, as far getting back to the bargaining table instead of another shade trade.

COVID-19

Dr Phil with SUNY Oswego alum Al Roker on the Today show, 2006.

With coronavirus the elephant in the room, all aspects of life are affected.  Shows with studio audiences like Dr Phil either have to close or tape without one (although reruns of his show are on OWN, other series that don't have to be current such as The Price is Right or soaps could go into their vaults).  Getting guests over would be a bit of a risk too on top of problems they may already have.  Like many people, I'm watching the news helplessly trying to cope with something unheard of before in living memory.  Meanwhile, Dish and Apollo/Cox have declared a truce ending their dispute as maybe other proviers and owners until after Easter as having people even tele-conferencing can be hard right now.  I'm ready to ask a psychic when any break will arrive.
Long-running shows in syndication could air reruns from recent past seasons if they go through this series' and can't make new episodes right now, but freshman shows will have the same episodes to go through sooner than usual.  We all hope all this will ease up someday.

Gears Firestick

NBC 4's studio at 30 Rockefeller Plaza

The other week, I went to the hairdressers and the TV was able to get flagship NBC 4 WNBC from downstate.  It seemed perplexing to get something from 200 miles away that easily.  Turned out it was Gears Firestick, which carries stations from around the country and globe, and includes all of what you'd find on cable and satellite.  It's a streaming service competing with Roku, Sling, amazon, Netflix and Hulu.  You'd have to have a good internet account with enough data and bandwidth.  Would make sense with the endless carriage disputes for which no law can stop as it'd compete with bigger issues in Washington.  Also, if something isn't available locally, you can find a channel that carries it.  I told the hairdresser how I got the NYC stations when I lived up the river two decades ago.  I also told her Italian pubcaster RAI may be on there too as she just went on holiday there.  She has the service at home too, but if I ever change course at home, I'd consider subscribing as well.  However, I heard somewhere, it could be a pirate service; todays version of the "cheater cable box" from thirty years ago (I'm old now!).

TV in far-flung regions

Not strong enough for the countryside.

There are areas where the closest TV market can be more than fifty miles away, while some like Syracuse and Utica here in CNY, or Baltimore and Washington are within that much distance of each other. Where I used to live in the Mid-Hudson Valley, I was almost eighty miles from Albany and New York City. While much of the area was part of the tri-state viewing area, there was less of a voice for everyone north of Yonkers and south of Catskill. RNN in Kingston provided local news for the region, although they moved operations down the river. WMHT has a translator W42AE in Poughkeepsie which has DCC classes in place of other instructional programming during the day and week. You'd have to have cable or a strong antenna to get anything. Satellite was only starting to have broadcast channels more easily. Only major stories would get any attention.
Other remote areas are dotted throughout the country. Stations can't exist in every city if there aren't enough people to serve.

Replacements for Spectrum

Willimantic, CT office.

The honeymoon's over!  Albany is showing Spectrum the door.  After being slated for not living up to their promise, New York State is looking to get them out.  Another company will have to take over the rights as a whole or portions of the state affected by this move.  There are a number of providers that could reach the northeast:

Comcast (although they've been in the same boat, yet own networks like NBC and USA)
Altice Optimum (much of downstate has this which absorbed Cablevision)
Haefle Cable (for around Cortland and Ithaca as they have rural communities like Virgil)
Atlantic Broadband (the US division of Canadian cable company Cogeco)
Consolidated Fairpoint (more of a Midwestern company)

Spectrum Northwest petition

Thrown together with what I had saved.

Please sign this everyone.
UPDATE: Four month dispute ended in June.

NET: The return?

Classic colour logo.

NET were the predecessor of PBS, which took over in October 1970 and NET was absorbed by WNDT downstate to become flagship WNET 13.  Since there are several indie stations in the country that are neither PBS (anymore in some cases as I'll get to in a bit) or commercial, there could be a new network for them to join.  Just as commercial indies in the past few decades turned to Fox, the WB, UPN, the CW and my Network TV, their non-profit rivals could have a place of their own.
The coasts have WNYE in the tri-state and KCET (which I explained in an earlier post) in LA.  Others like them include WPDS in Largo, FL and WLAE in New Orleans, LA just to name a few.
In the Commonwealth, there can be two pubcasters per nation.  The UK has the BBC and Channel 4, Canada with the CBC (English) and Ici Radio Canada-Télé (French) as well as Ontarios TVO for Anglophones and TVFO for Francophones, Australia with the ABC (as different from Americas as the two Woolworths are, as I told Cody Simpson and Kylie Minogue) and SBS (closer in aspect to PBS compared to Aunty), and New Zealands TVNZ and Māori (not directly owned by Wellington).  In the US, PBS is TV while NPR is radio.  They have their own fish to fry with funding fears.  Not sure how this would work as far as that.  Washington directly owning a network isn't quite the way it goes, and PBS are collectively owned by their member networks being non-profit and uncommercial.
As I said the other week, NET Journal would work now as hot button issues exist today that the documentary series could cover.  It paved the way for Ken Burns and POV.
The state PBS network in Nebraska are called NET but they would have to change their name to Nebraska PBS or Cornhusker PBS if they had to for TV, and NPR Nebraska for radio.  Don't think WNET would go back to their old callsign however.  There have been other unrelated networks called NET due to the generic nature of the name.  Just as there could be dark commercial stations left lingering across the country, it'd be a task trying to make an affiliate in every DMA.  The FCC have a licence for both kinds of stations.  Public ones are in the same boat as registered charities and houses of worship as far as tax-exempt status and not making profits.  Contributions from the audience can be written off.  The Ford Foundation bankrolled NET before CPB was formed.  Since not even the major commercial networks have an affiliate in every town the antithesis of such would have a more uphill challenge.  WPBS, WSKG and WCNY back in Upstate NY have two transmitters each but they don't have the same shows as the competition of course so it's not like how CBS in Utica and NBC in Watertown had been lacking a local voice until recently.  NET could even be on existing PBS member stations' tiers if ion affiliates can have as many as six channels on a set.
UK imports like Still Open All Hours are three series behind so NET could have the newest ones as Britbox, a joint venture of the BBC and itv online isn't for everyone.  Streaming is the latest threat to public television although Independent Lens and Masterpiece can be viewed that way these days.
NET could be another source of smart programming needed in a world of mindless "reality" shows and graphic scripted series trying to turn a fast buck.
Maybe a different name would work as NET could get confused with Netflix.

WCNY and World

PBS 24 Syracuse 22 Utica

WCNY, the public station for CNY no longer carries World, a joint venture of two major east coast stations and two organisations that contribute to the network.  It could be carried on 22/24.5 and HowTo on 22/24.6 (ION 56 has the largest tier group of stations in the Syracuse DMA to date).  However, the Trump administrations proposed austerity measures put public funds to the country's answer to a pubcaster (although not the de facto network like with other countries due to the large scope of the US media) on the line.  This isn't a political blog; just pointing out how things are being cut to the bone as it is now.  WCNY did away with pledge drives a few years ago in a trailblazing move and the budget cuts may prompt members and viewers (like you) to contribute out of pocket directly.  Sesame Street has already moved first run episodes to HBO of all places last year yet still symbolises the network to this day.  All I watch on 24 these days is Keeping Up Appearances which isn't in the PBS package but is syndicated to several member stations by BBC Worldwide Americas and has a cult following in North America.  If I were to ever send money to WCNY again I'd get a beaker even though I have the one for flagship WETA 26 in Washington, DC that I bought at the charity shop which I use for my coffee every morning.  May have watched the station the two times when I visited the beltway.  They have a subchannel specialising in UK imports.
Since KCET on the west coast fell out with PBS several years ago leaving their competitor KVCR (also on 24) in Orange County to be an LA area member station alongside KLCS, KOCE and KQEH, they've become an indie public station that PBS doesn't really even need anymore.  One could be started here.  On DT1, some NETA and APTV-distributed shows not already on 24.1 could air.  Waiting for God (even more elusive than the other Auntie show here in the US) could be brought back to the area along with other shows from the Beeb (such as As Time Goes By which was just dropped from WCNYs lineup) and itv/LWT (like Dame Judi Denchs other classic with her late husband A Fine Romance).  Good Afternoon was a public affairs/community discussion type show that was on when I was growing up so something similar could air today with a new name like PM Syracuse.  Maybe even have instructional programming akin to the UKs Open University or something like public access to fill the hours.  World could be on .2.  Old films on .3 which the other place used to have (mostly obscure if not public domain titles) but now have them spread out in one way or another.  The studio could be WCNYs old one in Galeville and the rerun-heavy commercial networks mentioned in a previous post can just take the former CBS 5 one back in town as both vacant buildings were designed for TV use but could be adapted as other properties if another kind of business buys them instead leaving other places that used to be offices or retail for the new station to operate from.  As for where on the dial (who uses that here anymore?!) to air, there isn't a dark station like I've seen in other towns so anywhere that doesn't clash with another frequency here or in the next region would be allocated by the FCC.  Maybe it could air on 62.1-4 in Syracuse and 59.1-4 in Utica on the digital successor signals to WCNYs former translators.  If it were possible to get all these networks in the area then we'd almost be in league with the big cities.
V-Me, FNX, NHK World from Japan and Link TV (part of KCET) also could fill up the new tier.  Only so many films would work due to rights and budget concerns.  The UK lineup could have Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, Only Fools and Horses, EastEnders (new ones as old one with retired and/or deceased characters and stars like Wendy Richards Pauline Fowler), Coronation Street, Hollyoaks, Emmerdale and To the Manor Born which also no longer air or never have in Central or Northern New York.  Irish classic Ballykissangel could also have reruns again here.  Other programmes too left field in nature for commercial broadcast in America would make sense as well.  Informercials not so much as they are still commercial and even televangelists (who buy air time the same way but have tax exempt status) don't usually go on public stations.  A documentary series like NET Journal which PBS's predecessor had in the turbulent '60s would be relevant to todays issues but would have a new name of course.  Originally programming could be developed as well.
WNED in Buffalo which get a lot of support going around Lake Ontario to Toronto, could put World on 17.4.  There may be more member stations that don't have it on their tier right now.
Seems one thing I haven't looked on this blog is sports, but that's really not my area, but a show that looks at life behind the scenes without ripping off ESPN too much would be close enough if not school teams playing.  Life can be like a sports league and TV is no exception which each time hoping to win the championship and this new station could be the new underdog in the Syracuse DMA.  More of these could be started across the country.  This new station could be the counterpart of channel 28 this side of the Mississippi Valley.

Spectrum: Long live Time Warner

After nearly a year of waiting, the Time Warner Cable name has finally gone the way of its predecessors Warner Amex, NewChannels and Adelphia (in CNY anyway).  TWC commercials have been phased out, TWC News now is called Spectrum News (which may now be added to pre-existing Spectrum systems such as Alpena, MI), and Spectrum vans are now on the streets (some older ones and third-party contractors may still have the old guard on them yet to be covered).  Spectrum Centre in Raleigh, NC is now renamed while other venues with naming rights had them sold to others or closed.  Still waiting for the Rochester office to get new signs.  The Rome one has theirs but it's a small building in a small town.  The old bus station in Syracuse still has News 10 Now's logo and I haven't been by the East Syracuse office in a while.

TWCs former corporate parent turned namesake are being sold to AT&T, owner of DirecTV.  Even Time and Life magazines aren't owned by them anymore.  Someone years ago said the company would split into several separately traded entities (AOL, Warner Music Group, etc.).

my Chicago TV

This can always be changed.

With WGN 9 going back to their indie roots, WPWR 50.1 is not only CW for Chicago, but myNetworkTV as well in an unusual move for the nations third largest TV market and the largest in the Midwest.  This is something you'd expect in the past or now in a small town not the Windy City.  However, there is a space on 50.5 when the other four are in use as some tiers have five channels like ion in some areas.  It should be used for myNetworkTV alone.  They are based in Gary, IN of Jacksons fame which is part of the Chicagoland metroplex.  As for syndicated programming (much of what used to be made in Cook County) there might not be enough even Entertainment Studios, informercials or other available programming.  Then RCN, Comcast, Dish and DirecTV have to agree to carry it as WGNs owner Tribune only just made peace with Dish recently (I only missed WGN America, the national counterpart for outside the Chicago area).  To boot, WPWR as myNetworkTV is an O&O (and sister to Fox 32 WFLD) so they should be a priority along with carrying a competitor (this is similar to my38 WSBK in Boston which is now owned by CWs half-owner CBS whose O&O there is CBS 4 WBZ; the switch made after UPN folded into the CW and WSBK too went back to being network-free for a period like it was back when I could watch it on cable growing up, as I only went to both big cities in more recent memory, yet WGN also only came later to my area).  myNetworkTV prove to be a weak sister to Fox and FNC as far as ratings go and don't be surprised if they go the way of Dumont and the WB (the other network hermaphrodited into the CW).  It is more of a syndicated package than a network and another Great Lakes region, Watertown, NY only just got a myNetworkTV and an NBC station to call their own.

UPDATE: my50 is pure again and CW 26 exists now.

Rabbit TV

No free image available.

With cordcutting on the rise (like credit cards using the shears doesn't close your account of course.  You must notify them!), people are looking for ways to cut back.  This USB device lets you see many channels online legally (the pirate sites are likely being issued writs by the solicitors).  Until my new internet service arrives I had to put mine aside.  I hope to have it by New Years so I can watch American Dad! when the latest series commences.  Like Hulu and Netflix, this can eat up data which I go through like water as it is!
Rabbit TV are a division of Freecast.

ClearTV review

My own ClearTV antenna in the window.

Put this on eBay but it was too good not to put here too.  Picks up where I left off six months ago:

I bought this as I have an antenna installed upstairs to save on having satellite on all three TVs (lucky there's no such thing as a licence fee in the US like there is in most of the Commonwealth if not EU).  I have the old school aerial on the chimney but it has to be taken off my house soon due to damage and the dish moved over to the roof.  If you're looking to cut the cord you should have this for local programmes at least as not all terrestrial programming is streamed like some cable ones are these days with Amazon Prime, Netflix or Sling.  Much of what I watch is on Fox (FNCs sister) and PBS so this is all I need right now.  My TVs are older so they have converters I bought with FCC-sponsored gift cards when they came out several years ago.  However if you live in an area that doesn't have a network affiliate of its own like one I go to which used to get CBS on cable from my town and another that still does the same with NBC and you're on your own for MyNetworkTV, then maybe this isn't gonna be enough if you wanna watch something that's carried on an out of town station on cable or satellite.  Also even adding the amplifier may not help if you live too far from a TV market or there's nature in the way like hills outside the Midwest and Steppes for that matter.  Also this is more for NTSC DTV and HD signals in North America.  I saw this on TV in an informercial but it's better value for money to order from here and I will get another in the foreseeable future.

Cutting the Cord: How do I get started?

Cutting the Cord: How do I get started?

The Future of TV: Learn How You Can Protect the Future of Free, Local Television and Keep the News, Emergency Information and HD Programs You Love

The Future of TV: Learn How You Can Protect the Future of Free, Local Television and Keep the News, Emergency Information and HD Programs You Love

Cable choices

De facto for most of Upstate and Downstate.

By FCC regulation there can only be one cable company per community though there are other methods to receive service.  However there are more ways nowadays with satellite (DirecTV and Dish) and wherever available Verizon FiOS.  In CNY you can even choose NewVisions over TWC although both have their offices in East Syracuse (local ones for national monopoly TWC).  In some areas though you'd be lucky to get the one, or even have an old school antenna on the roof (I still have mine).  Comcast are still looking into getting TWC so that can change things around too.  There used to be large satellite dishes and I've seen a couple in the county but I would think now you'd have to be rich to own one and the TV listings in the paper used to have coordinates listed for cable channels like Lifetime or USA (owned by Comcast now).  With carriage disputes popping up a lot in recent years (there was one with Cablevision as early as the late '80s over MSG which they later bought and spun off), if your favourite channel is gone for a while it makes you want to switch though the provider will say it just tells the channel you're settling for their rise though they all work out eventually.

Not so Big Cable

What would baby watch? (Rogers are a big one in Canada though)

In most small towns, it's not always the big boys running the cable junket despite its roots as CATV providing out of town stations to far flung places (especially in higher elevations).  Several regions of Upstate New York alone have indie service.  In Cazenovia there used to be Select-a-Vision but that was absorbed into Time Warner Cable.  South on NY 13 in Cortland County, while the city has TWC, within the zip code in the hamlet Virgil in the ski belt there, Spencer-based Haefele Cable, which I mentioned before covering some of the Finger Lakes and Twin Tiers, have the rights.  Southern Cayuga County Cablevision is based in Locke.  Mid-Hudson Cable south of Albany I just may have heard of before when I lived down the river some that now even offer a digital converter for older sets (I had MediaOne then which went the way of TCI one town down).  The Cleveland Show had one called Waterman Cable which is in a small town in Virginia called Stoolbend between Washington and Front Royal.  Even Ireland have a handful of small ones and a licence fee like the UK.  Back in the States there are over 800 mini-cable companies amidst the megas.  However there are still spots where you'd be lucky to sign up for DirecTV or Dish.  With the carriage disputes domino-ing nationwide the small cable companies like ImOn Communications in Cedar Rapids, IA just decide to let go (Viacom in ImOns case) rather than get into a David and Goliath type tug of war that their conglomerate counterparts can solve in a matter of days if not weeks.  Indies may sacrifice lower-rated yet A-list cable channels but fight for broadcast ones.  Even those in one-horse towns can find other ways.  ACA represent the interests of the mini-telecoms.

Cordcutting alternatives

No endorsement implied.

The recent blackout of Fox News and Fox Business from Dish that lingered for three and a half weeks left some subscribers either moving to another provider or if they're stuck in a contract plan B being going online to an unauthorised feed which appears to alternate between Cablevisions Optimum on Long Island, NY and Bright House Networks in Tampa Bay/St Petersburg, FL (although the company are based in my area).  Another one is out there but I only put them here as an example though those into cord-cutting apart from using Hulu and Netflix.  A briefer carriage dispute between my area local affiliates for FNCs sister networks Fox and myNetworkTV vs FiOS got me looking for another Fox station but more because the weather affected my DTV signal and I found Fox 45 from Dayton/Springfield, OH and flagship Fox 5 from the tri-state area.  However if you do ditch cable or satellite and live close enough to the transmitters then a good antenna is needed for local stations.  I have an old school one on the chimney so I only have to pay for Dish downstairs though Clear TV has had mixed reviews.  The posts on Utica and Watertown show that not all networks are easily available over the air in all areas though being able to find out of town stations can fill the vacuum there too but the varied nature of syndication (chat shows and reruns for a start) can add to the challenge when trying to do broadcast on a budget.  I've even been told by someone he was able to watch TV from the US and UK through a MMORPG online via XBox but I think I'll just keep Dish!

Cable Act Petition

What looks like INXS on this snap I happened to have.

I started a petition to change a generation-old law that is long overdue for a change.  Click, read and sign today!  I explain more there.

WLOT/WBQZ NBC 34.1/my34.2 Watertown

I'll just let someone else design a more polished professional logo.

As a small but border community market, Watertown in has been behind in catching up with the bigger cities.  CBS 7 WWNY used to be the only station on the US side of the St Lawrence Valley and then there was CBC 11 CKWS in Kingston, ONT which is even on cable down NY 12 in Utica. One of the owners of WLOT has passed on a decade ago while affiliated with UPN and his partner went to court but the station had gone dark and awaits a new FCC licence as NBC has to be brought in by NBC 3 WSTM in Syracuse who may boost their signal but myNetworkTV isn't even on Time Warner Cable there yet (the carriage dispute the former owners had with them makes recent ones pale in comparison).  Once these stations are on air, they also have to make sure Dish Network (given what they just went through with myTVs sister station), DirecTV, and FiOS in the US and Cogeco, Vidéotron, Bell TV, Shaw Direct and Rogers in Canada (eastern Ontario) will all be willing to carry them.  They'd also have to see which programs in syndication haven't already been picked up by CBS 7, ABC 50, Fox 28, or the CW.  A tower in Rutland, NY may still be standing but one will have to be closer to Landsdowne or Cornwall across the seaway.  A property on county route 100 near Salmon Run Mall west of I-81 may still be vacant and could even hold a small studio yet something better in Jefferson County may be available.  More as this develops.  WLOT obviously stands for Watertown Lake Ontario Television or Watertown Lake Ontario Thousand Islands (small town so I know) while WBQZ refers to the WB which they were supposed to have but that was merged with UPN into the CW already near 10th Mountain.  QZ can mean Quick Zone!  I'd get onetime resident Viggo Mortensen to film a station ID promo if he's willing to do so.