You need more power! Newer antennas will cover up to 150 miles.
But what's the big deal, it's only Tom Brady ...
Posted on 08/06/2014 5:07:42 AM PDT by maineman
Our local Maine affiliate, WABI TV Bangor has blacked out all Dish customers. They are demanding 6 times more money than Dish pays other networks to broadcast. This means no CBS NFL games and no New England Patriots games. I have voiced my concern on their Facebook page (WABI TV) only to have been blocked..imagine, a news outlet blocking someones opinion and views, just unreal. I'm sure that WABI TV has not reduced their adverting fees to correspond with the 1/3 less viewing audience. When I stated that on their Facebook page that's when I got blocked and that's when I realized they are greedy. I'm asking my friends on Freerepublic to go the the WABI TV Facebook page and ask them to remove the blackout. I can't imagine a football season with no CBS games and no Patriots games.
Thanks, Maineman
For a local television station serving rural Maine, this is an incredibly stupid decision.
Well, it’s 50 miles away (that’s local for Maine) so I tried. Reception is zero.
TV is not a right. They are capitalists, just like everyone else.
Have to get a bigger antenna.
While I would agree, they send their signal out over the air for free to those who use antennas. Why they should be able to profit more from those who purchase this service from a satellite provider? They're already getting paid, why should they be paid more than anyone else for the same service?
WABI-TV, a Bangor-based CBS and CW affiliate, has been blacked out for DISH Network subscribers after the two companies reached an impasse over contract negotiations.
The Bangor Daily News reported that WABI and DISH are blaming each other for the blackout, which impacts the TV station’s WABI-TV 5 and WABI DT2 channels.
Details of the contract negotiations are not being disclosed because of a confidentiality agreement, but the primary conflicts revolve around how much WABI is compensated and how many counties in Maine receive either of the station’s two channels.
DISH said in a Wednesday press release that WABI “has blocked DISH customers’ access” to the two channels because the station uses its “in-market monopoly to put profits ahead of the public interests they are supposed to serve,” referring to WABI’s request for an increased reimbursement rate, which was last set five years ago.
Mike Young, vice president and general manager of WABI’s operator, told the BDN that DISH’s statement was “absurd” and indicated that WABI’s request for increased compensation could be easily misrepresented.
He said the larger issue is that DISH is proposing to cut WABI service in three of the nine counties where its channels are currently available, which would essentially eliminate service for “thousands” of DISH subscribers.
My cable (Cox) and some local/cable networks go through this when their contract negotiations are taking place.
Cable accuses the channel/network of wanting too much money.
Channel/network accuses Cable of being unreasonable by wanting to pay too little.
Both threaten the viewership that the other one is responsible for the potential loss of that channel/network. Occasionally, the channel/network will go black for a few days and, then, miraculously, they come to a meeting of the minds (they settle on the $$$ issue).
Can Dish contract with a non-local CBS station? Maybe the Boston station would like some viewers in Maine.
Get Direct TV!
Even if the Boston Station consents it is against the law. TV Broadcast zones areas are a federally protected monopoly. The local station owns that broadcast area.
Correct. They are required to broadcast, and with the proper (and inexpensive) equipment you can pick up that broadcast.
The technical term is “re-transmission.” The direct TV or cable companies are taking their signal off air, and retransmitting it over their systems. For profit.
Consider what would happen to the cable company in City X if they dropped the NBC affiliate. The loss of Sunday night football would cause everyone headaches. The broadcaster has the cable company over the coals. They can either require coverage, or they can tell the cable company that they want to get paid for carraige—just as ESPN does.
Many cable companies pay $1-$2 a month of your cable bill to carry broadcasters.
Its a product like any other. The owners have the right to charge for their product if someone else is profiting off of it.
Not a fan of broadcasters...but this is the way of the world.
The conversion to digital signals posed problems for some viewers. In Boston WHDH TV 7 went to digital channel 42 and found some couldn’t pick them up so they moved to 7-Digital I think. And with digital signals (like the HD2, HD 3 etc on HD radio) you don’t get a faint signal—there’s a point where you either get the signal or you don’t, at all...
In some cases one can watch online via their site. For example sometimes there’s a local crisis that makes national news and you go to their site... or there are apps like Watch ESPN. Not sure about the CBS network etc. or this station’s local newscasts. The Web rather than over the air could be the wave of the future.
>>Stay connected to live sports and shows from ESPN - wherever and whenever you want them. Download the FREE WatchESPN app to your iPhone, iPad
>>WHDH-TV Live App. Watch 7News live on your iPhone or Android. You can easily watch 7News live on your iPhone or Android. Just search WHDH in your app store!
I understand how it all works, which is why I think broadcasters are scum when asking so much from cable/satellite carriers. There used to be a separate fee on my satellite bill for "local channels." There were ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and PBS, plus what would have been a few UHF channels. In all, around 7 channels. They charged a $5 fee for including the local channels on a $50 total bill. I got over 150 channels of programming for that $50. The amount charged for locals was disproportionately large for what we got. This was when the small-dish satellite service was in its infancy, well before DVRs.
In fact, the first time I got satellite, we didn't even have the option for local channels, we had to get them via antenna, and switch between the two depending on what we wanted to watch.
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