View Single Post
  #15  
Old 07-05-2017, 12:08 PM
Robert Grant's Avatar
Robert Grant Robert Grant is offline
VideoKarma Member
 
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: Monroe County, MI
Posts: 518
The owner of two television stations in Cleveland made what I consider a questionable move for money. They sold the powerful UHF license and kept the weaker VHF one, and will be moving the 43 (WUAB) programs to the weaker RF channel 10.transmitter sharing it with CBS (WOIO). I'm sure some subchannels will get cut to make room on the single transmitter's data stream.

Viewers who reliably receive CBS over the air with an antenna will probably never see a difference. PSIP not only allows multiple virtual channels like 19.1, 19.2, 19..., it makes possible the arrangement of 19.1, 19.2 and 43.1, 43... on the same channel 10 transmitter, so someone who has been watching 19 will be equally able to.watch channel 43.

Problem is, a lot of people in the Cleveland area have trouble getting reliable service from CBS 19 and those viewers will be losing 43 as well. If they had sold out the channel 10 spectrum, they would have received less auction proceeds, but they could have moved the 19.1 CBS service to the UHF transmitter (along with 43) and have solved their coverage problems.

It is interesting to note that Univision did not sell their spectrum in Cleveland, an auction result I would have expected (counting Spanish-speaking markets, Cleveland is one market rank above Lexington, Nebraska). I could easily see CBS getting frustrated with its poor OTA coverage of the Cleveland market, and looking for a new affiliate or O&O, perhaps considering swapping a handful of stations in smaller markets that are bilingual for a great signal (and content control) in big Anglophone Cleveland.

Last edited by Robert Grant; 07-05-2017 at 12:26 PM. Reason: Was work in progress
Reply With Quote
Audiokarma