Dish to offer locals

[Tom Snyder]

Tim Cuprisin reports that Dish Network will start airing most Milwaukee stations by the end of the month at an additional charge.

Interesting to note that, as was the case at the rollout of local channels on DirecTV, Channel 58 isn't on the list of stations available at launch but remains in talks with Dish Network to join the local network affiliates that will be offered.

[Sparkman87]

Weigel Broadcasting hasn't come to an agreement with DISH in Chicago either.  CH 26, WCIU, is the only local channel that is not carried by DISH.  Their web site tells you to contact DISH.  I have sent E-mails to them & gotten 1 response.  They didn't seem too optimistic about reaching a deal and it didn't seem like they were going to be willing to budge.  If they play the same way in Milwaukee, it may be awahile before you see 58 on DISH.

[Tom Snyder]

Protracted negotiations have been the Hall mark (no pun intended) for carraige of Wiegel stations on DirecTV and TWC. Both sides blamed the other side for wanting them to accept an unfair deal and told us to contact them to put the pressure on.

I believe the issue here was the carriage of channels 41 and 63, Channel 58's low power cousins. Jim Hall has always wanted to get those carried despite the fact that the satlelite and cable companies are under no obligation to do so.

I don't blame him, actually. Just doing what a good manager/negotiator should do, but frustrating to the average impatient viewer.

[foxeng]

I don't know how much improvement in PQ you will have on your locals if Dish does there what they did here and that was to put up a central receiving site and pick up the stations analog OTA and then send them digitally muxed over a sat link to their uplink center and then on to your house.  (oh yeah, you need the "SuperDish" to pick us up here or have multiple dishes sprouting in your yard to have the locals.)

If a station goes off the air, that channel is down on Dish. and if that station is having transmitter problems, it will not be any better than OTA or cable. With D* here, we feed a fiber to them and if our transmitter goes off, people on D* still have us.

Good going Charlie! :drink:

[mhz40]

Originally posted by Tom Snyder
I don't blame him, actually. Just doing what a good manager/negotiator should do, but frustrating to the average impatient viewer.

I don't blame him for trying either.  However at some point doesn't a 'good manager/negotiator' actually get a deal done... even if it's not the one they would have hoped for?
I can't believe that 41 & 63 are that critical to Weigel's future vs it's CBS affiliation.

Regardless of the off-air reception format that foxeng pointed out, it has to be better than nothing in terms of at least having the off air package for competitive reasons.

[Kevin Arnold]

You make a good point. I've always wondered why WISN, WITI, WTMJ etc. can always get the job done right away whereas 58 always seems to have issues.  When D* set up the locals it was the same story.  4,6,12,18, & 24 were there but 58 held out. Did they really get a better deal? Is Weigel making more money for their signal than the others? Or, put another way, are the Journal, Fox and Hearst-Argyle just plain lousy negotiators. I wonder.....

[Sparkman87]

Is Weigel making more money for their signal than the others? Or, put another way, are the Journal, Fox and Hearst-Argyle just plain lousy negotiators. I wonder..... [/B][/QUOTE]

I think it's a case that Weigel thinks it's stations have more value than DISH & Direct do.  I don't think the others are lousy negotiators at all.  The satellite co's have figures that have to come in at.  I think DISH plays more hardball than Direct does, but I do believe the carriage of the low power stations has as much to do with it as anything.  Weigel also has LP stations in Chicago & South Bend.   THe South Bend station is the WB, but channel 23 in Chicago is MEtv, old classic shows in the daytime & ethnic in the evenings.  I would bet that Direct has agreed to some kind of future reiview for the LP station and that is enough to get them to reach an agreement.  DISH has been pretty consistent nationwide about not agreeing to anything regarding not only LP channels, but local "Newschannels" that are owned by a local station & only on local cable.  I believe that Nashville was missing their ABC for almost a year before a settlement.  I hope that Wiegel reach agreement in Milwaukee soon & that maybe Ch 26 in Chicago will be a part of their settlement.