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better SUPERstation!
- Thread starter AJ JAM
- Start date
70sdj said:
Don't you have an antenna? I watch WTBS-DT on that all the time.
70sdj said:
For the DirecTV question, I can't answer.
TBS-HD should be online by fall, so TBS-L should follow. They already have the BOC for TBS-HD set up. Right now, they will be mainly upconverting the programming for TBS-HD for now.
AJ JAM said:
In the 90s, if you asked me this question, I would say it's a tie.
Now, I would say it's Atlanta's TBS. I watch them all the time. I never watch WGN anymore.
Also, keep in mind that, after September, there will be only one superstation, since TBS local will be Peachtree TV.
And, I tell you what, after watching it with rabbit ears for seven years, minor "ghosting" is NOTHING compared to the static I used to get on WTBS. I live near Dobbins, and when the planes fly over, the signal goes to crap. So far, no interferance with DirecTV as of yet.
And, I tell you what, after watching it with rabbit ears for seven years, minor "ghosting" is NOTHING compared to the static I used to get on WTBS. I live near Dobbins, and when the planes fly over, the signal goes to crap. So far, no interferance with DirecTV as of yet.
FloydB said:
Last I checked, KTLA, WPIX, KWGN, WSBK, and WWOR were still superstations.
livingfruitvirus said:
1) What would constitute them as superstations, since I've never seen them on any cable or satellite systems. However, I did think I was wrong once, but I was mistaken.
2) This thread was only talking about 2: WGN and TBS. Starting in October, TBS will no longer be a superstation, since WTBS will become WPCH, Peachtree TV.
WWOR is a superstation, at least back in the 90s they were. I rememeber watching them when I lived in SOVA. We had WWOR, WGN, and TBS. Those were our three superstations.
Here is what Wikipedia says: "...But with the advent of cable and satellite-delivered television, independent stations were being uplinked for regional and national distribution, thus gaining the title of "superstations". In April 1979, Syracuse, New York-based Eastern Microwave, Inc. began distributing WOR-TV to cable and C-band satellite subscribers across the United States, joining WTBS in Atlanta and WGN-TV in Chicago as national superstations..."
Also, to add to the list above: WAPA, WKAQ are also Superstations (according to wikipedia)
I still stand by my last comment, TBS is much better than WGN, as of today.
Here is what Wikipedia says: "...But with the advent of cable and satellite-delivered television, independent stations were being uplinked for regional and national distribution, thus gaining the title of "superstations". In April 1979, Syracuse, New York-based Eastern Microwave, Inc. began distributing WOR-TV to cable and C-band satellite subscribers across the United States, joining WTBS in Atlanta and WGN-TV in Chicago as national superstations..."
Also, to add to the list above: WAPA, WKAQ are also Superstations (according to wikipedia)
I still stand by my last comment, TBS is much better than WGN, as of today.
FloydB said:
The five stations I mentioned are all on Dish Network. However, syndex has crippled the benefits of a lot of superstations.
Man, you guys take me too seriously! 
Hey, I didn't mean to anything. I just haven't heard about the other stations before, although I'm sure they exhisted, just not where I was turning on my TV.
I'm a Georgia boy, born, raised and still live. Turner's the shiznit down here. On that note, though, they probably worked a little "exclusivities" to block out the other superstations in their home market. I was born and raised in Augusta, and Jones/Comcast didn't start carrying WGN there until the early-mid 90s.
I've always liked TBS more, and not because of the "hometown" aspect. Programming choices have always been better, and TBS's imaging is better. I only liked WGN for the baseball coverage, regardless of Sox/Cubs, and for their newscast. Hey, I grew up with market 112, so seeing the worst market 3 news is still better!
Hey, I didn't mean to anything. I just haven't heard about the other stations before, although I'm sure they exhisted, just not where I was turning on my TV. I'm a Georgia boy, born, raised and still live. Turner's the shiznit down here. On that note, though, they probably worked a little "exclusivities" to block out the other superstations in their home market. I was born and raised in Augusta, and Jones/Comcast didn't start carrying WGN there until the early-mid 90s.
I've always liked TBS more, and not because of the "hometown" aspect. Programming choices have always been better, and TBS's imaging is better. I only liked WGN for the baseball coverage, regardless of Sox/Cubs, and for their newscast. Hey, I grew up with market 112, so seeing the worst market 3 news is still better!
FCC regulations for cable systems used to allow only one "superstation" or independent to be imported into TV markets under 100 and two superstations in markets 51-100. Top 50 markets could get three superstations. Since all GA TV markets except Atlanta were sub 100, they only got WTBS while Atlanta market cable subscribers usually got WGN and WWOR in addition to WTBS. In Columbia SC, cable subscribers got WTBS and WTTG from Washington since they fall in the 80s. Charlotte got WTTG and WDCA, in addition to WCCB, but WTTG was dropped for WTBS. I think the regulations were dropped in the late 80s/early 90s.
While in college in Statesboro in the late 80s and early 90s, the local cable carried TBS, WGN and WWOR. Getting newscasts from the Chicago and New York markets was great, especially for someone studying broadcasting and journalism. Morton Downey, Jr. was just becoming popular then, and WWOR was his station. The best part, though, was that during baseball season, there were two or three games nearly ever day.
notalkallstatic said:
WAPA is available as "WAPA America" (and it does broadcast all of WAPA's locally produced programming, as well as some fare from WIPR), and it's the most popular of Puerto Rico's "superstations" (available on DirecTV, several Comcast systems (rolling slowly to be made available nationally), RCN, Qwest Communications, and Cablevision in the greater NYC), while WKAQ's limited offerings are available on a service named "Telemundo Puerto Rico" which only Dish Network offers it nationally (and they had gotten a lot of complaints reguarding their lack of programming content), and Cablevision in NYC is their only cable provider.
T
traficstud
Guest
I'd like to know if DirecTV plans to lift the blackout on TBS National when WTBS switches to Peachtree TV.
traficstud said:
From what I hear, that's part of the red tape they're (Turner) working through. Peachtree TV will only be available to the Atlanta area (since it'll now be looked upon as an Atlanta independent station, like WATL) and TBS will now be its own cable channel, just like TNT, USA and the like. So, splitting the two is causing havoc with the local cable systems, since they now have to have a new channel for one or the other.
I should hope DirecTV will not have the blackout and make it one of the regular-offered channels, especially since I was looking forward to seeing the MLB playoffs in October. But, that causes another dilema: Say DirecTV has their "choice" package with 145 channels and just add TBS, that'll make 146. "Woah, hold the phone" say the bean counters, "We can't be giving them another channel for FREE! We MUST charge them for something, so take a channel away from Choice and make it available only with Choice Plus!" But, then Choice Plus has too many channels, as the "slippery slope" continues. So, common sense aside, it's made more complicated than it already is.
Mark said:
If you lived in Chicago when KTVU was a Fox affiliate, was all the Fox programming blocked?
azumanga said:
Ah. I thought maybe you lived there in the 90s and Cox was piping it in from elsewhere.
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