ARE RTV, ANTENNA TV, ME TV, THIS TV, TUFF TV........THE NEW SUPER STATIONS

[gregg75]

Seeing as everyone is excited about the new Antenna TV and Me TV, don't you think all these
sub-channels (which are national) are quickly becoming the NEW SUPER STATIONS?

Quality retro shows + decent national audience + widespread availability= Super Station

Seeing as how many true Super Stations are now CW or MY NETWORK TV, I think there
is a void which these subs are taking good advantage of. TV LAND and others making more
original programs make this void even larger.

 

[ansky212]

All these networks need to get better cable/satellite carriage to really become a factor. The number of people who have a TV hooked up to an antenna is limited compared to cable. For that reason a lot of people won't even know these channels exist. I'm in the NYC area and Verizon doesn't carry WPIX 11.3 (and soon 11.4), so a large population in the #1 market won't be seeing This TV or Antenna TV.

 

[DToTheJ]

I see your point, Gregg, but I really don't think that, theoretically, networks like Antenna or Me or This would qualify as "superstations," since they are exactly what they are: networks, as opposed to one station originating in a given city, being delivered to many cable and satellite subscribers.

Notice I did not mention RTV. That network is what we could call a "pooper station".

 

[gregg75]

I'm not splitting hairs here as to what is a network or super station.

Fact is, they are nationwide and they offer much of the old time programs that Super Stations
offered back in the day. If they are not super stations, they're the closest thing we got.

 

[BRNout]

To refer to them as "superstations" is likely an overstatement because their distribution is still relatively limited. What I mean by 'limited' is that relatively few people get their TV over the air anymore. Those with satellite aren't generally offered subchannels. And, cable is pretty stingy with subchannels too. Even for those of us fortunate enough to be offered such subchannels via cable, they usually require digital cable (though with the conversion of all cable to digital, this issue will fade).

Given all this, most of these channels tend to be "niche" at best. An exception is MeTV in Chicago and Milwaukee, which has been exceptionally well managed, programmed and marketed. In Chicago, MeTV originates from a subchannel of WCIU and from a LP TV station; same goes for MeToo. In Milwaukee, MeTV is a standalone. So, these are exceptions.

Don't get me wrong - I'd love it if all of these offerings are successful. And, I love the idea of having these viewing options available to me. But, they aren't 'superstations' really. Though they sure do have the "spirit" of those former independents that those of us who are older than 35 remember.

 

[landtuna]

I'm not splitting hairs here as to what is a network or super station.

Fact is, they are nationwide and they offer much of the old time programs that Super Stations
offered back in the day. If they are not super stations, they're the closest thing we got.

"Super Station" has to be a complete misnomer. The originals (TBS, WGN etc.) were nothing more than terrestrial stations on cable making them nationwide instead of local. Their programming was still local for the most part. They were not "super" in any category save availability.

Slapping the "super" label on any station which is totally consumed with classic TV programs makes even less sense.

 

[stationless listener]

I would have to think that, eventually, some of the main market stations, especially those who are the "second stations" of the duopolies, would see the value of bringing back many of the classic tv shows that they once aired. If the likes of Antenna TV, ME Tv and the like really start making serious money, who says that the likes of WWOR and KCOP can't put some classic shows on? Heck, ION could have gone that same route, especially now that Bud Paxson is no longer part of that company. I know that there are people who are disappointed that they dropped Mama's Family (checked in their message board a while back) from their schedule.

Doesn't WPIX still air The Odd Couple and The Honeymooners during the late night hours? I thought they still did since those show have been staples of that station for a long time. However, upon checking their schedule, I don't seem to find them listed.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It's not just that people don't get their TV OTA. Where I live I can't get a dependable signal from any of these, if I have them. Now an outdoor antenna might help but I've just never been willing to spend the money on installation, when cable offers so many advantages.

 

[DToTheJ]

Doesn't WPIX still air The Odd Couple and The Honeymooners during the late night hours?

I can confirm that WPIX ran an "Odd Couple" marathon this past Thanksgiving Day.

 

[ansky212]

It's not just that people don't get their TV OTA. Where I live I can't get a dependable signal from any of these, if I have them. Now an outdoor antenna might help but I've just never been willing to spend the money on installation, when cable offers so many advantages.

If you want a roof antenna you don't need to get too fancy or even need professional installation. I put a small Silver Sensor antenna up on the side of my house by using simple wire/cable tacks that you can buy at any dept. store. That antenna is intended for indoor use but works even better outdoors. I get 100% signal by having the antenna outdoors when I only had about 50-75% signal with it indoors. I can even pick up some low power stations now that I had no chance of getting when the antenna was inside. I had the advantage of using pre-existing cable wiring but even if you had to run a cable yourself it wouldn't be too complicated.

 

[gregg75]

Interesting.......I never thought of using an indoor antenna outdoor. You still have to plug
it in to electricity? How do you keep the weather and rain off of it?

 

[tripinva]

Where I live I can't get a dependable signal from any of these, if I have them.

Now an outdoor antenna might help but I've just never been willing to spend the money on installation, when cable offers so many advantages.

You contradict yourself. You absolutely can get a dependable signal from them, you just choose to use the wrong tool for the job. This is like complaining that a satellite service doesn't work when the satellite dish is inside your house tossed randomly in a corner rather than outside and properly aimed.

- Trip

 

[flytrap]

Outside antennas aren't that hard to install, just be careful not to fall off the roof (been there done that) But with any outside antennas, a traditional outside antenna usually work best. The new fangled "digital" round, square or box shaped antennas are usually only good for stations 20 or 30 miles away. Most are nothing more that gloryfied rabbit ears folded up in a box. If you have snooty neighbors that won't let you put up a real antenna, then one of the little boxy ones might have to do. Just make sure you put it on side of the house where you will get the most signal and get it as high as possible. If you have lots of trees or building, you may have trouble. I live 30 miles from the transmitters and never had much luck with these. Worse than rabbit ears. But my regular "old fashioned" ugly antenna works fantastic.

 

[ansky212]

Interesting.......I never thought of using an indoor antenna outdoor. You still have to plug
it in to electricity? How do you keep the weather and rain off of it?

No, the antenna doesn't use electricity. Just use a regular coax cable to connect it to your tv and you're good to go.

This is the antenna I put outside and it works great: http://www.solidsignal.com/pview.as...&c=TV Antennas - Indoor Only&sku=044642011024

 

[KeithE4]

Interesting.......I never thought of using an indoor antenna outdoor. You still have to plug
it in to electricity? How do you keep the weather and rain off of it?

No, the antenna doesn't use electricity. Just use a regular coax cable to connect it to your tv and you're good to go.

Some indoor antennas have a preamp that is powered with a wall cube. Both of mine are like that. Never tried either of them without it.

 

[ansky212]

Interesting.......I never thought of using an indoor antenna outdoor. You still have to plug
it in to electricity? How do you keep the weather and rain off of it?

No, the antenna doesn't use electricity. Just use a regular coax cable to connect it to your tv and you're good to go.

Some indoor antennas have a preamp that is powered with a wall cube. Both of mine are like that. Never tried either of them without it.

Yeah, I intentially bought an antenna without a preamp so that I could stick it outdoors. I've never found preamps to be very helpful anyway. In some cases I've actually found that the preamp makes the signal worse.

 

[gregg75]

I use a regular indoor that plugs in with a gainer on it. It takes awhile to find "that perfect spot" for reception (where you can leave it). If I could drop it out a window and get a 30% better
signal it might be worth it. The rain would create a problem though.

 

[vchimpanzee]

It's not just that people don't get their TV OTA. Where I live I can't get a dependable signal from any of these, if I have them. Now an outdoor antenna might help but I've just never been willing to spend the money on installation, when cable offers so many advantages.

If you want a roof antenna you don't need to get too fancy or even need professional installation.

You don't know me very well, do you?

 

[KeithE4]

Yeah, I intentially bought an antenna without a preamp so that I could stick it outdoors. I've never found preamps to be very helpful anyway. In some cases I've actually found that the preamp makes the signal worse.

That's entirely possible due to strong signals overloading the preamp. Because I live 5 miles from the South Mountain antenna farm in Phoenix, maybe ditching the preamps will help with some of my reception problems (stations, especially the three VHFs, cutting out at random, for example).

 

[carolinaradio]

I use a basic Philips VHF/UHF amplified antenna inside and it works great. Took me an hour to position it properly where I got all of the stations and I haven't really touched it since. On average, I'm ~40 miles from most of the stations. I get everything, only the ABC affiliate is a little iffy sometimes.