Why Izzat? (useless programming on digi-subs)

[landtuna]

KTVK virtual channel 3 here in Phoenix is a female-friendly indie in a duopoly with KPHO virtual 5 a CBS affiliate. Their normal schedule features a locally produced morning program followed by estrogen-fueled talk shows and reruns of previously aired network shows. On their two digi-subs they run a local weather loop and a rebroadcast of their morning program. I have a problem with both channel 3's digi-subs.

The rehash of the morning show contains news, features, weather and traffic. In the middle of the afternoon today I accidentally tuned into 3.2 and noticed they do not bother removing the weather and traffic segments from early this morning. And these segments are repeated about every ten minutes throughout the show. Isn't it possible to have an eager intern strip these useless segments from the rebroadcast? The weather segments are especially irritating because the other digi-sub is an endless weather loop. I mean, Phoenix doesn't have all that much weather to begin with and certainly not nearly enough to take up one whole digi-sub as well as numerous break-ins in the morning show and its repeat throughout the day. At least three other local TV stations also run weather loops on their digi-subs making a fourth even more worthless.

The other thing I noticed is KTVK must be having trouble selling commercial time on the digi-sub because virtually every stopset is minutes long and is very repetitive with the same local commercials, same PSA's and same promos.

I realize the cost of broadcasting a digi-sub isn't huge but it seems to me an enterprising executive or programmer could find much more saleable items to put on the subs than what is currently being done. This seems like a terrible waste of broadcasting technology when we have so much radio and TV talent on the beach. Surely some of them could put together some sponsorship and air worthwhile programming. Even more old movies would be desirable to what is being aired today.

 

[Prescott Joe]

Agreed.... Wish they would have COMET TV on one of their sub channels......

 

[landtuna]

I'd settle for THIS-TV on a channel I can actually receive. Shame to waste the best signals on this crap.

 

[formeraa]

I like the re-broadcasts of local news. They carry the live newscasts and, then, repeat them until the next live newscast. I often get home at 7pm and like to get a local news update. The sub-channel is where I can catch on the day's news and weather (it's just 30 minutes old or so by that point).

Would I rather see a live newscast? Of course, I would but there are times when I get home at odd times and just want to see the news (last night I got home at 10:30pm, for example). Perhaps repeating GMAZ all afternoon is a bit ridiculous and could be replaced by CBS5's noon newscast, but it is nice having a news source.

 

[landtuna]

I like the re-broadcasts of local news. They carry the live newscasts and, then, repeat them until the next live newscast. I often get home at 7pm and like to get a local news update. The sub-channel is where I can catch on the day's news and weather (it's just 30 minutes old or so by that point).

I see the value of the news recast but not traffic and weather (as both are many hours out of date). Those two segments are repeated often and take up valuable time from the recast. I don't know why, other than just laziness, 3 doesn't strip them out of the rebroadcast.

 

[K.M. Richards]

You know, landtuna, I recall you making similar disparaging remarks and complaints about KTVK in other threads. By now, it's becoming a case of venting just for the sake of venting. It's obvious that Meredith doesn't care, or they'd have done something by now.

So why bother? You're just giving yourself an ulcer over it.

Stations make their own decisions as to which diginets to carry or not carry. It doesn't matter if you think a network is on the wrong transmitter. It is what it is.

If you want to get practically all the popular ones on decent signals, move here to L.A. We have all but a couple of them here and I have no trouble receiving them with the antenna inside the attic.

 

[landtuna]

You know, landtuna, I recall you making similar disparaging remarks and complaints about KTVK in other threads. By now, it's becoming a case of venting just for the sake of venting. It's obvious that Meredith doesn't care, or they'd have done something by now.

I don't think it was me. KTVK used to be an ABC outlet before the bloodbath of the mid-90's and was a favorite of mine. Since it became an indie about all I watch are the weekend morning shows. I never watched their digi-subs. Not much seems to have changed since the duopoly with KPHO came into existence and I would have much the same comments about KPHO concerning their digi-subs as well. Both stations seem to be wasting resources.

If you want to get practically all the popular ones on decent signals, move here to L.A. We have all but a couple of them here and I have no trouble receiving them with the antenna inside the attic.

I lived in Long Beach in the early 60's but a trip not quite a year ago to pick up a rescue dog convinced me nothing is worth me moving to El A.

 

[oldiesfan6479]

...since the duopoly with KPHO came into existence and I would have much the same comments about KPHO concerning their digi-subs as well. Both stations seem to be wasting resources.

Senor Tuna,

KPHO has only one sub--5.2, which is Cozi TV. I wouldn't exactly call that "wasting resources." It's one of the major retros. Where else can you see Adam-12 every day? (Yes, Cozi is also on KVOA 4.2 Tucson, for those who can get channel 4, and I can. I don't know why I can, but I'm not complaining. It's also nice to see 4.1, so I don't have to put up with Mc12!)

I do wish that both This TV and Retro TV were not "buried" on sub-channels of 38, which I've never been able to pull in. Since 44 dumped Retro TV from 44.2, that's been a loss of Route 66 and Naked City. And This TV (wasn't it on 3.x in the past?) used to (does it still?) run Highway Patrol...10-4!

 

[landtuna]

KPHO has only one sub--5.2, which is Cozi TV. I wouldn't exactly call that "wasting resources." It's one of the major retros.

Yup, I screwed up. CAPCHA killed my original post and in retyping it I confused KPHO (5) with KPNX (12NOOS he says through pinched nose) although 12 does offer a retro on 12.3 unlike 3.

I do wish that both This TV and Retro TV were not "buried" on sub-channels of 38, which I've never been able to pull in. Since 44 dumped Retro TV from 44.2, that's been a loss of Route 66 and Naked City. And This TV (wasn't it on 3.x in the past?) used to (does it still?) run Highway Patrol...10-4!

I agree with you. I also cannot receive 38 no matter what I do and, IMHO, they have far better offerings than Cozi and the others.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Since 44 dumped Retro TV from 44.2, that's been a loss of Route 66 and Naked City. And This TV (wasn't it on 3.x in the past?) used to (does it still?) run Highway Patrol...10-4!

I was going to say those two shows were no longer on Retro's schedule, but a quick check shows that they are ... at 3:00pm and 4:00pm ET weekdays. (They no longer have a separate west coast feed. How much longer can Henry Luken keep that network afloat?)

A scan of This' schedule shows no more Dan Mathews. The timeslot it used to occupy as filler when the movie schedule fell short of the "start of the day" at 6:00am ET now has Rat Patrol reruns scheduled.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I don't think it was me.

Well, someone was complaining. I guess your choice of words was close to what I remembered. Perhaps whoever it was will recognize themselves and self-attribute so they can then find meaning in my post.

 

[landtuna]

Well, someone was complaining. I guess your choice of words was close to what I remembered. Perhaps whoever it was will recognize themselves and self-attribute so they can then find meaning in my post.

Most posters here seem to be male so unless they were writing a thesis on estrogen-fueled television programming KTVK wouldn't be of the slightest interest. As I said before, the only program I watch is their weekend morning show and then only for a segment or two (I like Wally Cahill's car review and Chef Dad's cooking). The weather gal, Kim Q., is also very easy to watch (even though my letching days are almost behind me). I actually liked the previous morning show hosts much better than the current ones but old habits die hard. And, it doesn't hurt that channel 3's signal is the only one in all of the Valley that never seems to be impacted by dust, hail, rain, sunshine or magnetic disturbances from mysterious places. The main attraction to watching 3 now seems to be guessing which on-air talent will appear - original 3 people or those from 5.

 

[dhett]

I don't understand why people can't get channel 38 - I've been able to receive it with a cheap set of rabbit ears from 5' above ground level from all over the valley, except for the shadowed areas behind Squaw, er, Piestewa Peak and North Mtn. Perhaps picking up multipath interference?

Myself, I like the 3TV subs and as for the traffic and weather repeats, I get everything I pay for. Comet comes in pretty good now on 50.3; they've fixed the audio problems. I'd love to see more subs; there's plenty of room for them on the LPTV stations - I'm talking to you, Daystar, Liberman and Mako.

 

[formeraa]

I see the value of the news recast but not traffic and weather (as both are many hours out of date). Those two segments are repeated often and take up valuable time from the recast. I don't know why, other than just laziness, 3 doesn't strip them out of the rebroadcast.

It's not like the weather changes here all that often (today excepted). As long as they show the 7 days forecast, I'm okay with that.

That said, it would be nice to have something like NWCN (Northwest Cable News). It covers news throughout the NW (WA, OR, and ID) from the TEGNA stations in Seattle, Portland, Spokane, and Boise). They do their own newscasts (with reports from the affiliate stations), weather, and sports. The newscasts are done live every 2-3 hours -- except during the overnight hours. Weather is updated as frequently as needed, depending on weather conditions in the NW.

So, we could have the Arizona News Network with reports from Phoenix, Tucson, and Northern Arizona (if anyone truly covers Northern AZ).

 

[landtuna]

So, we could have the Arizona News Network with reports from Phoenix, Tucson, and Northern Arizona (if anyone truly covers Northern AZ).

The only TV reporter covering Northern AZ, mostly Flagstaff, is Charlie Edsitty on 12. The other stations seem to drive people up north whenever there is a snowstorm or other exciting and very rare news events but Charlie (who is a she) is the only one I've seen regularly.

 

[formeraa]

The only TV reporter covering Northern AZ, mostly Flagstaff, is Charlie Edsitty on 12. The other stations seem to drive people up north whenever there is a snowstorm or other exciting and very rare news events but Charlie (who is a she) is the only one I've seen regularly.

Yep. And Charlie is the legacy of Gannett's promise when they closed down the 2News operation in Flagstaff. In fact, Gannett actually promised that there would be 2 reporters stationed in Flagstaff, but that never happened.

Of course, NAU does a Northern Arizona focused newscast, NAZ Today, on Monday through Friday evenings at 6pm.

 

[landtuna]

I don't understand why people can't get channel 38 - I've been able to receive it with a cheap set of rabbit ears from 5' above ground level from all over the valley, except for the shadowed areas behind Squaw, er, Piestewa Peak and North Mtn. Perhaps picking up multipath interference?

Tried something this weekend and surprised myself. My PC monitor (Samsung Syncmaster T24B350) is both a monitor and a digital TV receiver. My PC TV card is connected to the monitor's HDMI input and an external (interior) antenna is connected to the TV side. I have separate interior antennas connected to the PC card and the monitor TV side.

When scanning the PC side I cannot get 38 at all. Nada. Nothing. If I switch to the monitor's TV side I can receive it although the PQ is not the best (which may be a function of the number of subs and not the signal itself).

I have switched antennas but get the same result so I think that my Samsung monitor is just more sensitive than the PC card.

 

[Nathan O'Dan]

Channel 38's PQ has really gone downhill since adding Retro to .6 and Rev'n to .7.

 

[Prescott Joe]

I don't understand why people can't get channel 38 - I've been able to receive it with a cheap set of rabbit ears from 5' above ground level from all over the valley, except for the shadowed areas behind Squaw, er, Piestewa Peak and North Mtn. Perhaps picking up multipath interference?

Myself, I like the 3TV subs and as for the traffic and weather repeats, I get everything I pay for. Comet comes in pretty good now on 50.3; they've fixed the audio problems. I'd love to see more subs; there's plenty of room for them on the LPTV stations - I'm talking to you, Daystar, Liberman and Mako.

What I have never understood is why stations broadcasting on South Mountain do not offer translators to serve the Northeast quadrant of the valley. According to TV FOOL, much of the Northeast valley does not have signal db's that exceed 25 from South Mtn. Many Tucson stations, 120 miles away, exceed that signal strength. Metro Phoenix is about 4 million. That should break down to about a million people/possible viewers. It makes no sense to me that stations put translators to serve less than 50 thousand potential rural viewers but not a million or so in a large city......

 

[landtuna]

What I have never understood is why stations broadcasting on South Mountain do not offer translators to serve the Northeast quadrant of the valley. According to TV FOOL, much of the Northeast valley does not have signal db's that exceed 25 from South Mtn. Many Tucson stations, 120 miles away, exceed that signal strength. Metro Phoenix is about 4 million. That should break down to about a million people/possible viewers. It makes no sense to me that stations put translators to serve less than 50 thousand potential rural viewers but not a million or so in a large city......

The NE part of the Phoenix metro area is also far and away the most affluent (Snottsdale, Paradise Alley, Careless etc.) so the TV stations probably think they would not get enough OTA viewers to make the translator worth the cost.