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WBBJ in Jackson Drops 7.2, But for What???

anotherguyTN

anotherguyTN

I just found out recently that WBBJ's subchannel on 7.2 had been dropped. This channel was a waste anyway because it was a duplicate of 7.1 (ABC) that was supposed to be with "secondary" audio although it almost never was. I had hoped that this would open up the chance for them to adjust their bandwidth and finally make Me TV a full time subchannel, but when I called yesterday to find out what would be happening I was told that there were no plans to replace 7.2 with anything, and that Me TV would still only be used as filler for the CBS subchannel on 7.3. :mad:

It has been almost 4 years since WBBJ added CBS and Me TV on 7.3, and their management as done nothing to fix the problem. Other Bahakel owned stations have managed to put 3 or 4 channels on their signal, one of which is Me TV on most of them, but WBBJ keeps making excuses and claiming they don't have room for another subchannel.I know that 7.2 was 7.1 with a separate audio signal that didn't take much bandwidth. But they've done nothing in 4 years to resolve this problem. Instead now they're at point where they could make the adjustments to add Me TV full time but they won't get off their wallets to do it.

Thankfully I've found a decent antenna where I can get Me TV from WLMT 30 in Memphis, and although it doesn't come in all the time I can at least get it more often than the shoddy treatment that WBBJ is giving it.

WBBJ's management has once again proven what a cheapskate outfit they are, and I hope that once their contract with Me TV is up that WJKT 16 will take it away from them.

Thanks for nothing AGAIN WBBJ!!!:mad:
 
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It would make sense to move CBS to 7.2 and possibly even make it HD, which it isn't right now. But WBBJ could still adjust the bandwidth to be like the other Bahakel stations and carry Me TV full time. But from what I was told they have no intention of adding another subchannel for any purpose, and that Me TV is still only going to be used as filler for the CBS subchannel, regardless of what their other stations are doing.
 
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Thanks for the info Trip. So does that mean that WBBJ is locked into the bandwidth for 7.3? So it's contractual problems that is preventing WBBJ from making more room for Me TV?

In looking at your website 7.1 has 12.75 Mbps and 7.3 has 5 Mbps. If I remember correctly from other threads that you or Scott Fybush mentioned that there was a limit of something like 19 or 20 Mbps? Is 7.1 locked in by a contract on their bandwidth by ABC as well? If that's the case then I think I understand more why WBBJ isn't making changes for now. But I still hope that something can change in the future to where either they will be able to add Me TV full time or that another station like WJKT can get it instead. Thanks again.
 
The ATSC standard allows 19.39 Mbps of bandwidth per station, including all services (closed captioning, program guide, and obviously the video and audio streams).
Assuming WBBJ is required to broadcast ABC in HD (very likely), and CBS at 5 Mbps, there is no room for another non-HD subchannel. Many stations that broadcast subchannels use something like 2-3 Mbps for the non-HD subchannel instead of the 5Mbps that CBS requires.

WBBJ is allocating 18.2 Mbps. They had previously been using 18.392 with the addition of SAP on the .2 subchannel. The background services are typically allocated 1 Mbps.
 
Thanks again for the info. It looks like the best anyone will be able to do for Me TV is to try to get WLMT with an antenna for a long time to come. :(
 
PTBoardOp94 said:
Assuming WBBJ is required to broadcast ABC in HD (very likely), and CBS at 5 Mbps, there is no room for another non-HD subchannel. Many stations that broadcast subchannels use something like 2-3 Mbps for the non-HD subchannel instead of the 5Mbps that CBS requires..
Click to expand...

sure there is. Drop a couple Mbps on 7-1. There are ABC affiliates that are running 10Mbps or less (KSTP in Minneapolis is running less than 9)
 
unclehonkey said:
sure there is. Drop a couple Mbps on 7-1. There are ABC affiliates that are running 10Mbps or less (KSTP in Minneapolis is running less than 9)
Click to expand...

I agree that's a possibility, but is WBBJ tied into a contract with ABC that sets their bandwidth like they are with CBS, and how long will they be tied up in it? I'd hope that once the contract with ABC comes up for renewal that they can adjust the bandwidth to allow for Me TV, but how long will it be before that can happen, and will WBBJ's management have enough sense to do it?
 
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