Monday, November 13, 2006
What Could The FCC Be Thinking?
ANOTHER EMGR CHAT DOWN!
DT Channel 16... Where are you?
On August 17, 2005, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania(licensee of old analog channel 35) filed a CP extension request for their digital channel 16 with the FCC. The reason…. Request to move transmitting facilities to WICU towers on Donation Rd. The move would help them save substancial money in operations. The FCC granted that request on September 12, 2005. The FCC took 26 days to approve that request for CP extension.
On January 13, 2006, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania filed another extension request for their digital CP with the FCC. The reason for the request….bad Erie winters and loosing $400,000 the previous year. The FCC granted that request on March 1, 2006. The FCC took less than 60 days to approve that request.
On August 31, 2006, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania filed still another extension request for their digital CP with the FCC. This time…”no money honey.” Losses in the first 6 months of this year over $690,000. Today, it is fast approaching 90 days without formal action by the FCC. In the meantime, Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania has had almost 3 more months of free time to construct their digital channel 16. No construction at the Donation Road site has occurred. (It would be interesting to see if equipment was ordered or delivered and construction crews reserved. That would have shown intent, but you would think they would have divulged that in their filing or in a subsequent exhibit)
SJL/Lilly can still pull it out and take the lead as a proud CBS affiliate. You have to act like a number one to be a number one. It is my hope they make a public announcement of their intentions. They made no promissory date in their FCC filing or even gave much hope for the FCC to hang its license on. (Should I hold my breath?)
The EMGR Chat Down Question?
Would you say that the “public’s interest, convenience and necessity” would be served by delaying this construction indefinitely or what do you think the FCC should consider?
"Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCC http://www.dtv.gov/
Tuesday…Chris Tarbell and his lean mean WJET/K104... DJ way back website machine!
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22 comments:
For those Erie area viewers interested in trying to get CBS network programming in HD via satellite, and having trouble with WSEE granting the waiver, take a look at http://www.tech-notes.tv/ Click on the link for "Current Edition" which will then download a PDF file of the latest newsletter issue. The portion of particular interest is on pages 74 & 75 [you can go directly there with by hitting the appropriate buttons on your Adobe Acrobat Reader or other PDF viewer]. Seems like its not just an Erie/WSEE problem........
Your're right! That is a problem with more than WSEE. Seems they have no problem asking the FCC for favors but turn a blind eye to viewers who just want to get the HD WSEE can't provide.
What we need is a new attitude at the FCC that puts the interest convenience and necessity of the consumer first again.
Jack, allow me to break down this DTV deal into parts to help me and others understand it more precisely:
* All broadcast TV stations will need to be totally converted to digital transmission by 2009.
* There have been deadlines to construct in the past two years that many stations have avoided through the filing of extensions to the FCC.
* There is no rule that requires the local station to broadcast in HDTV, only on the digital channel assigned to them, and eventually to give up their analog channel in 2009.
* There is no rule to require local stations to produce programming in HDTV, or upconvert their programming to HD, just a conversion to a digital stream to put over their digital transmitter.
* Right now there are several ways to receive high-definition television through Time Warner's HD Tier and Direct TV & Dish network's HD Tiers. I would suspect that 98% of American viewers watch HD programming using a third-party converter box from cable or satellite.
So that I understand, the issue of WSEE's not building its digital channel is important but really not what will be of most benefit to the Erie consumer. What is is most important is the production and passing through of HD programming through their content stream in order to be available via cable and satellite. But there is no requirement for a station to even buy an HD down-stream switcher to pass-through network HD programming, right (although they would be foolish not to)?
So what HDTV set owners really want to do is encourage broadcasters to use best practice and the most up-to-date technology in order to serve their viewers better and increase their bottom line, but not necessarily to meet FCC requirements.
Maybe we should just ask them nicely. :)
radio free jojo.
You said it entirely correctly. But the local stations have to have a digital transmitter in order to pass on HD, (Even though HD is not required) So the first step is to have all the stations have at least a digital channel.
All but one does. And a few that do are so weak that a tin can might give you better reception. I am not worried about that as that will change.
The FCC is still a watchdog. It would be so nice if we could say "pretty please" to the ownership and they would feel a responsibility to comply without the FCC. Sadly, we don't have local owners who feel that way anymore.
The FCC is more worried that a nipple (gasp!) might be shown or someone may say a word that offends old ladies than it is worried about making sure stations are in compliance with technical standards.
I hope the FCC makes an example out of WSEE. This has gone on long enough! I don't think WSEE feels the FCC is going to do anything if 35 doesn't go Digital.
WSEE has always been and will always be the bastard child of Erie TV. Why the hell don't they build a Digital Channel? What is the delay? This seems to be nothing more than the classic stall, stall and delay tactic than anything else.
Oh well! Can't wait for the day when WSEE goes dark because they thought the FCC, Congress and the Federal Government were just screwing around with going Digital!
I rather liked the comment about WSEE being the bastard child of Erie TV. Always a day late and a dollar short!
Why can't WSEE give the public what they want? ALL TV must be Digital by February 2009. If they think that on Jan. 31, 2009 they're gonna ask the FCC for another extension they could be in for a nasty shock!
Just Git-R-Done! Please? Is it asking too much to be able to watch CSI in Digital? How about the NFL? College Football? However, I don't want to see Scott Bremner or Joey Stevens in Digital - HAHA!!
I think we're all in for a very long wait to see Digital on CBS in Erie. I can't believe WSEE has been so poorly mismanaged!
WSEE is just terrible! Terrible! Maybe it would be better if they were to just go away? Maybe someone else could do a better job of running 35 than SJL/Lilly Clowns?
Public Interest? Public Interest?WSEE could care less about the public interest!
I think the FCC should make an example of WSEE and yank their broadcast license until Digital is up and running!
I think maybe you JET and ICUers should maybe get back to work, 'cuz if SEE goes dark, I'm just gonna come up the street and take your job.
What is the point in going digital now? JET and ICU both shoot a signal, yet most cannot even pick it up. "Dog lick digital" is what is being preached and whined about here. 2009 is still over 2 years away.
"What is the point in going Digital now?"..."2009 is still over 2 years away."
The point in going full Digital now is you will have a tremendous advantage over your competition. Do you realize there are people living near the transmitters that CANNOT pick up the digital signal?
I realize 2009 is over 2 years away. However, time does not stand still for anything. Before WSEE knows it 2009 will be here and Channel 35 will cease to exist.
This is called strategic planning. WSEE, currently, has no strategic planning. The morale is terrible, people are leaving in droves, the station has trouble making payroll on a consistent basis and there APPEARS to be no hope in sight. Give the people left at WSEE a break and petition SJL/Lilly (Clowns) to go Digital...NOW!
Jack wrote "But the local stations have to have a digital transmitter in order to pass on HD". That is not necessarily true. A local station like WSEE could easily pass on the CBS HD shows, along with the remainder of their broadcast day upconverted from SD to HD, directly to the cable TV companies without any sort of fancy digital transmitting facilities on upper Peach St. or Donation Rd. by simply microwaving it or putting it on fiber back to the CATV headends. At that point, the cable cos. would provide the digital "transmitter" in the form of an inexpensive QAM modulator to feed their cable subscribers. If they would do this in conjunction with the Erie City & Erie County cable TV companies alone, I bet they would get a lot more potential HDTV viewers than by wasting their money right now on an over-the-air 8-VSB DTV transmitting plant just to serve a handful of early adopters who can't or won't get cable.
Last Poster...
You are correct but unfortunatly the govenment doesn't see it that way. Like it or not....sooner or later... analog 35 has to go bye bye and be replace with digital. If they don't go digital HD now they would have to reinvest eventually because WJET and WFXP will be HD digital.
Nexstar has and is converting its stations finally. Slowly...to be sure but still converting.
Yes, eventually analog NTSC TV will go away but meanwhile this would buy them some time (critical when you're in bad financial shape, and useful even if you're not). This would allow them to defer the additional expensive operating costs/capital investment while gaining the competitive advantage of HDTV programming which you repeatedly tout.
Agreed. So why wait?
WSEE can have DISH and Direct TV turn on all subs who want CBS HD right now with one simple note them. And give it to them until WSEE can supplly the same HD signal.
Yes, we are in agreement on the satellite waiver issue too. I described making HD available via cable since that is what I have (don't have satellite TV service) but the principle is the same.
I think Last Poster is onto something: Yes, follow the rules as the FCC requires, but the public interest is really advanced when the five stations pass-through the full HD signal from the network to the cable companies. That's when the vast majority will see Sunday Night Football and the Today show in HD. Just like they can now with ESPN, HBO and the like.
The trick for WSEE and others to allow network pass through via satellite or cable now is that it would be a WCBS in New York, for example, on DISH for CBS. So no local commercials or local news would be passed through.
That is the sticking point with the local broadcasters in allowing it.
You allude to the fact that WSEE (for example) would be letting WCBS into their backyard by approving satellite waivers for HD. This is true although when you consider how hard they fight against it, it's ironic that 35 is the CBS station carried on PrimeTime 24 (or whatever it's called) for satellite distribution of SD CBS shows to markets not otherwise served here & abroad in the Caribbean. I presume they make some $$ off of that arrangement (rightly so, of course --- it must cost money to feed Mr. Stevens' parrot and pay the vet bills for it, or maybe they trade it out with PetCo and Glenwood Animal Hospital LOL).
I don't think anything technical (other than perhaps initiative & lack of some capital budget $$ for a couple of boxes but nothing compared to a complete 8-VSB OTA plant upgrade) is stopping them from "local" [well, sort of] HDTV into cable however. It seems to me that all it would take is an additional satellite receiver to get the network HD feed from CBS (in the case of 35), an upconverter to take their normal SD programming and change it to HD to be used for the times when there is no network HD to be aired (or when they want to substitute a local cut-in of some sort over a network spot), and a very basic switcher/splicer to select which one gets sent over the microwave or fiber to the cable companies at any given instant. And a couple of pieces of basic HD test equipment for test & monitoring. Perhaps I am oversimplifying, but I don't think I am. Obviously I haven't priced this stuff but (1) they could reuse most if not all of it when they eventually did go full-power [whatever that means] OTA DTV, and (2) once again, it's a lot less expensive than doing the whole digital high-power (or what passes for high-power) OTA UHF DTV transmitter/RF system installation right now, and (3) we ain't talking rocket science or nuclear physics or finding the cure for the common cold here.
And most importantly, it would make HDTV available to a relatively high % of their total audience (how much demand for it there really is right now by households/business establishments with HDTV equipment is debatable, but it would address your intent that the local TV stations become 'competitive' and try to exploit this potential advantage)
Hey...I am all for it. Whatever it takes to get to the first step.
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