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Cumberland, MD (August 29, 1970)

from Cumberland Morning News via Newspapers.com

2 WDCA Washington
3 WETA-NET Washington; sports from WSVA-ABC/NBC Harrisonburg
4 WHAG-NBC Hagerstown
5 WTTG Washington
6 WJAC-NBC Johnstown
7 WMAL-ABC Washington
8 Local Origination; sports from WGAL-NBC Lebanon
9 WTOP-CBS Washington
10 WFBG-CBS Altoona
11 sports from WBAL-NBC Baltimore
12 Weather/Time/Announcements; sports from WMAR-CBS Baltimore
13 WJZ-ABC Baltimore
 
When I was there in 1981, seems to me they also offered WGAL-8 from Lancaster. Hard to figure that one out, OTA availability (thus driving viewing habits and prompting cable carriage) would have been impossible.
 
I'm also surprised about the lack of Pittsburgh stations, unless terrain in Cumberland favors DC and Baltimore over Pittsburgh
 
I'm also surprised about the lack of Pittsburgh stations, unless terrain in Cumberland favors DC and Baltimore over Pittsburgh
Cumberland is right there on the far, far fringes of three large markets, though it is actually closest to Johnstown-Altoona and that is its "naturally occurring" market. That said, I'm not sure how much Cumberland regards JA stations as their "locals", and there has historically been a preference for DC stations all the way out to Mineral County (Keyser), which didn't even have FCC significantly viewed stations because there was 90%+ cable penetration. I don't know why they wouldn't carry at least the legendary KDKA alongside Washington, Baltimore, and JA stations. Washington stations have historically had a reach all the way up through Grant and, at one time, Pendleton counties in WV, the whole state of Maryland except Garrett County, a big wedge of northern Virginia, and some border counties in Pennsylvania.

Pendleton County is truly the "odd man out" when it comes to TV reception. The only thing they can get OTA is WHSV, now with all their subchannels that relay all major networks, and even that is very dodgy, totally reliant upon knife-edge reception. At one time the local cable carried WDBJ and WSLS from Roanoke, evidently a fairly straight shot up the valleys, and WDTV from Weston for in-state news. At one time, Washington 4/5/9 enjoyed 5-24% penetration, this no doubt via cable as well, OTA would be impossible. One of the cable systems up that way even carries the CW subchannel of WVVA in Bluefield, can't figure out what's up with that, it would be less incongruous, assuming they could find some way to receive it, to get WQCW from the Charleston-Huntington market. Pendleton is one remote corner of the world, and is home of Green Bank Observatory (SETI) as well, National Radio Quiet Zone. Great place to visit if you truly want to get away from the hustle and bustle.
 
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Cumberland is right there on the far, far fringes of three large markets, though it is actually closest to Johnstown-Altoona and that is its "naturally occurring" market. That said, I'm not sure how much Cumberland regards JA stations as their "locals", and there has historically been a preference for DC stations all the way out to Mineral County (Keyser), which didn't even have FCC significantly viewed stations because there was 90%+ cable penetration. I don't know why they wouldn't carry at least the legendary KDKA alongside Washington, Baltimore, and JA stations. Washington stations have historically had a reach all the way up through Grant and, at one time, Pendleton counties in WV, the whole state of Maryland except Garrett County, a big wedge of northern Virginia, and some border counties in Pennsylvania.

Pendleton County is truly the "odd man out" when it comes to TV reception. The only thing they can get OTA is WHSV, now with all their subchannels that relay all major networks, and even that is very dodgy, totally reliant upon knife-edge reception. At one time the local cable carried WDBJ and WSLS from Roanoke, evidently a fairly straight shot up the valleys, and WDTV from Weston for in-state news. At one time, Washington 4/5/9 enjoyed 5-24% penetration, this no doubt via cable as well, OTA would be impossible. One of the cable systems up that way even carries the CW subchannel of WVVA in Bluefield, can't figure out what's up with that, it would be less incongruous, assuming they could find some way to receive it, to get WQCW from the Charleston-Huntington market. Pendleton is one remote corner of the world, and is home of Green Bank Observatory (SETI) as well, National Radio Quiet Zone. Great place to visit if you truly want to get away from the hustle and bustle.

Speaking of DC stations with far reaching CATV signals, WTTG and WJLA used to be carried in Bedford, PA into the 1980s, and they were likely replaced by WWCP and WATM respectively.

The 80s were the Wild West for far-flung cable carriage among independents. WTTG was seen as far south as Columbia, SC and in large portions of North Carolina and Virginia.
 
Speaking of DC stations with far reaching CATV signals, WTTG and WJLA used to be carried in Bedford, PA into the 1980s, and they were likely replaced by WWCP and WATM respectively.

The 80s were the Wild West for far-flung cable carriage among independents. WTTG was seen as far south as Columbia, SC and in large portions of North Carolina and Virginia.

Yes, I know, Bedford was kind of an outlier in that regard, though it's no more far-fetched than getting DC stations in Keyser WV. Getting stations from the nation's capital had a "cool factor" just on general principles.

WTTG and WDCA were would-be regional superstations fed by microwave throughout VA/NC/SC, though from what I've heard, by the time it got to Columbia, you didn't have much of a signal, similar to these "soft" feeds you get online (the various diginet feeds on F2V TV on Roku, for instance) or even fuzzy 480i subchannels showing old TV shows. I call it "watching TV through wax paper". I'm pretty sure they had this same problem when they schlepped WTTV Indianapolis (Bloomington) all the way east to Huntington WV, and from what I saw when I stayed in Mount Vernon IL in 1985, WPSD Paducah KY also had that "wax paper" look. Satellite distribution got rid of the daisy-chain problems inherent in microwave relays.
 
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