Can PBS stations ever invoke exclusivity rules to keep out-of-market PBS stations off cable/dish?

[mofocat]

I have a hard time understanding how a city the size of Bakersfield couldn't support its own PBS affiliate, however, the pancake-flat terrain of the SJV makes even a low-power repeater easily accessible. Given the right terrain, an LPTV can provide coverage that is not all that different from a full-power station.

At one time, KQED had an extensive translator network throughout the central third of California, including IIRC points as far south as Atascadero and possibly beyond. I suppose if you could watch a high-quality station such as KQED, having a local affiliate would be kind of pointless.

From the late 60s thru the mid 70s there were several UHF translators- I'm going to guess 4 to 6 - between Merced and Bakersfield. They brought KQED to the Central San Joaquin Valley before KMTF (KVPT) came on around '76(?).

 

[Joey1986]

KCET Los Angeles still operates a low-powered repeater/translator K04SB-D for purposes of serving the Bakersfield market. Before the advent of KVPT, PBS was served in Bakersfield by KCET. When KCET went rouge and dropped their PBS affiliation it was replaced with KVPT on cable. However, even during that time KCET was an independent non-comm it could and can still be received OTA with a good antenna array.

According to RabbitEars.info, K04SB-D maps to virtual channel 46, instead of KCET’s RF and virtual channel 28. I see that a couple of LPTVs (KDBK-LD 41 and KZKC-LD 42) share RF 28; but that shouldn’t preclude K04SB-D from using virtual channel 28, right?

 

[IM42A]

From the late 60s thru the mid 70s there were several UHF translators- I'm going to guess 4 to 6 - between Merced and Bakersfield. They brought KQED to the Central San Joaquin Valley before KMTF (KVPT) came on around '76(?).

I remember that from the Central California TV Guide channel lineup, KQED had a huge list of translators.

Just curious, were they daisy-chained together, in the fashion of the translator network in Utah that relayed (and still does) the main SLC stations throughout the state? For instance, did Los Banos get its OTA channel 9 signal straight from KQED, then hand that signal off to Merced, then Merced to Madera, then Madera to Fresno, then Fresno to Visalia... ? You get the idea.

 

[K.M. Richards]

Well in Southern California the Los Angeles PBS affiliates also serve markets where a PBS affiliate does not exist. Case and point KOCE Los Angeles even serves the Palm Springs and Santa Barbara TV markets.

Also, when I had DirecTV in the early part of the century, they carried four PBS stations -- KCET/28, which was the "official" Los Angeles PBS affiliate at the time; KLCS/58, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District and carries some PBS programming; KOCE/50, which was considered secondary for Los Angeles but primary for Orange County; and KVCR/24 San Bernardino, which was supposed to be PBS for the Inland Empire.

All four were carried because all four were in the Los Angeles DMA. How would the OP suggest that kind of situation be worked out?

 

[TheBigA]

All four were carried because all four were in the Los Angeles DMA. How would the OP suggest that kind of situation be worked out?

Based on your description, it sounds as though PBS had worked it out. Of course in 2010 KCET would self-destruct and quit PBS over payment of dues. That led to a long difficult situation during which time KOCE became the primary affiliate.

From what I can determine, PBS designates who carries what among their stations, likely based on dues payments.

 

[KML0224]

Here in NYC, for those with DIRECTV, we have this situation with Connecticut Public Television via WEDW Stamford, being available unlike other providers in the area, with WNET, WLIW, & NJ PBS.

Comcast in greater Hartford carries WEDH-TV channel 24 Hartford and WGBY-TV channel 57 Springfield, MA.

Spectrum in Portland, ME carries WCBB-TV channel 10 Augusta and WENH-TV channel 11 Durham, NH. Southern NH is the northern area of the Boston/Worcester DMA.

 

[Mr Tony]

Also, when I had DirecTV in the early part of the century, they carried four PBS stations -- KCET/28, which was the "official" Los Angeles PBS affiliate at the time; KLCS/58, which is owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District and carries some PBS programming; KOCE/50, which was considered secondary for Los Angeles but primary for Orange County; and KVCR/24 San Bernardino, which was supposed to be PBS for the Inland Empire.

All four were carried because all four were in the Los Angeles DMA. How would the OP suggest that kind of situation be worked out?

There is 4 in the Minneapolis DMA...all of which are carried on satellite (all owned by different entities)

TPT & TPT Life from Minneapolis (TPT=Twin Cities Public Television)
KAWE from Bemidji (Lakeland PBS..northern part of the DMA)
KWCM Appleton (Western part of the state/DMA)

 

[ftballfan]

Where I lived Cablevison now Charter Spectrum had 2 PBS stations WGVU the local PBS for West Michigan and WTTW out of Chi which in the fall was taken off Charter channel 11 was no more until they moved WXMI Fox17 to channel 11 in June 2014 which was moved from channel 17. My grandparents didn't like the move as they liked to watch the programs at a different time than what WGVU had them on. Adelphia Comm now Comcast only had WGVU when I had them at my very first house I lived in.

I wonder if WGVU requested that Charter remove WTTW from its Kalamazoo lineup

 

[NoDakObserver]

Moreover, many states have statewide public TV networks where the programming is duplicated 100% (or close enough to it), such as Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and others --- statewide simulcasted PBS networks seem to be historically a Southern thing.

North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska all have statewide networks.

 

[IM42A]

North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska all have statewide networks.

True, but my point is that this is especially prevalent in the South, even in states with fairly large population centers (Birmingham and Montgomery AL, Atlanta and Savannah GA, Louisville and Lexington KY). But OTOH, Tennessee's and Virginia's PBS stations are piecemeal and there is no statewide network.

FWIW, at one time Louisville had a free-standing non-KET PBS station (WKPC-15), and Atlanta still does have a non-GPTV station (WABE-30).

 

[NoDakObserver]

Cable systems with more than 36 channels are required to carry at least 3 NCE-TV stations. If there are less than 3 must-carry NCE stations in a market, they need to import from another market. Cable systems can decline must-carry for stations that duplicate too much programming. Link: 47 CFR 76.56(a)(1)(iii)

Satellite doesn't have a minimum number of channels to carry. They can decline duplicating NCE's. Link: 47 CFR 76.66(h)(7)

The FCC link specifically states "qualified local NCE television stations". So if you have only one available (in the analog days) there would be only one you could show. I don't know of any cable system in North Dakota that ever carried more than one PBS unless they were close enough to the border to get one from another state. Currently, those cable systems will show the subchannels of the local PBS station/network, which in North Dakota is four.

 

[ShawnHill1]

True, but my point is that this is especially prevalent in the South, even in states with fairly large population centers (Birmingham and Montgomery AL, Atlanta and Savannah GA, Louisville and Lexington KY). But OTOH, Tennessee's and Virginia's PBS stations are piecemeal and there is no statewide network.

FWIW, at one time Louisville had a free-standing non-KET PBS station (WKPC-15), and Atlanta still does have a non-GPTV station (WABE-30).

Florida is another Southeastern state without its own statewide PBS network; there are four individual PBS stations that are owned by the state colleges/universities, but operate independently of each other--WFSU Tallahassee (Florida State), WGCU Fort Myers/Naples (Florida Gulf Coast), WUCF Orlando (Central Florida), WSRE Pensacola/Mobile (Pensacola State College), and WUFT Gainesville (Florida). The rest are either community-owned (WJCT Jacksonville, WEDU/WEDQ Tampa/Saint Petersburg, South Florida PBS [WPBT Miami/WXEL West Palm Beach]) or owned by a local school district (WLRN Miami, owned by Miami-Dade County Schools). At least in some of the these markets, you do have a secondary (or sometimes a third) option for PBS programming.

Louisiana also has a statewide network, although the New Orleans DMA is served primarily by WYES; Louisiana Public Broadcasting does co-own WLAE-TV, but it operates as an educational independent and carries some programming from LPB. However, it did operate as NOLA's secondary PBS station from 1984 to 2013.

 

[IM42A]

Florida is another Southeastern state without its own statewide PBS network; there are four individual PBS stations that are owned by the state colleges/universities, but operate independently of each other--WFSU Tallahassee (Florida State), WGCU Fort Myers/Naples (Florida Gulf Coast), WUCF Orlando (Central Florida), WSRE Pensacola/Mobile (Pensacola State College), and WUFT Gainesville (Florida). The rest are either community-owned (WJCT Jacksonville, WEDU/WEDQ Tampa/Saint Petersburg, South Florida PBS [WPBT Miami/WXEL West Palm Beach]) or owned by a local school district (WLRN Miami, owned by Miami-Dade County Schools). At least in some of the these markets, you do have a secondary (or sometimes a third) option for PBS programming.

Louisiana also has a statewide network, although the New Orleans DMA is served primarily by WYES; Louisiana Public Broadcasting does co-own WLAE-TV, but it operates as an educational independent and carries some programming from LPB. However, it did operate as NOLA's secondary PBS station from 1984 to 2013.

The Georgia/Florida corridor was also unusual, in that it had five VHF PBS stations with no UHF PBS stations in between them:

WXGA-8 Waycross GA
WVAN-9 Savannah
WFSU-11 Tallahassee
WUFT-5 Gainesville
WJCT-7 Jacksonville

I have to wonder if this was by design, due to deficiencies in the public education systems in the South at that time, and VHF being considered easier to receive in people's homes as well as schools, not to mention relatively few viewers having TV sets with built-in UHF tuners.

By contrast, KET in Kentucky was an all-UHF network, and had only some translators on VHF. But then again, Kentucky didn't have the public TV VHF allocations to begin with. KET snapped up the majority of them in one fell swoop, with most stations going on the air within days of one another in 1968.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I have to wonder if this was by design, due to deficiencies in the public education systems in the South at that time, and VHF being considered easier to receive in people's homes as well as schools, not to mention relatively few viewers having TV sets with built-in UHF tuners.

Not specifically by design, unless you count the determination of FCC Commissioner Frieda Hannock, who when the 1952 allocations table was being constructed insisted on the educational allocation be a VHF channel if there were any available. It's why, for example, why San Francisco and Sacramento got VHFs but Los Angeles and San Diego got UHFs.

More within these articles at the UHF History site:

History of UHF Television

uhfhistory.com

https://uhfhistory.com/articles/sharetime.html (scroll down to WENS/WNET Pittsburgh)

And this article in Broadcasting on the comments received during the 1952 public hearings on the allocations table:

https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1952/BC-1952-04-14-Pt-II-TV-Freeze-Lift.pdf

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

In some cases the PBS Affiliate in question is part of a statewide network like in Oregon, Hawaii, Kentucky, Nebraska, Connecticut, Georgia, New Jersey, Wyoming are the most notable examples.

I know in Hawaii case the entire state is tied to the Honolulu TV market. In New Jersey their statewide PBS affiliate is split between New York City and Philadelphia. Connecticut's PBS affiliate is split between New York and New Haven.

Note some of these PBS statewide networks are split between TV markets within their states.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I know in Hawaii case the entire state is tied to the Honolulu TV market.

That is (and has always been) also the case for ABC, CBS and NBC.

Somewhere around here I have an old TV Guide for Hawaii from the 1980s which shows the same channel bullets for all the network affiliate programming, on every listing, all day.

 

[Kelly A]

It's very rare for cable systems in such states to do that, and where it does exist --- you'll see it from time to time --- evidently the cable provider is uninformed, and thinks there is some variety in the various stations' programming.

Cable providers must adhere to 'must carry' rules for full-class TV stations. That means if there are two full class PBS affiliates in the same DMA, the cable system(s) need to carry both. Has nothing to do with programming.

 

[davideduardo]

I know in Hawaii case the entire state is tied to the Honolulu TV market. I

This is similar to Puerto Rico, USA, where the significant TV players have multi-station simulcasts to cover the entire island. There is no local origination other than San Juan by those operations.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Not specifically by design, unless you count the determination of FCC Commissioner Frieda Hannock, who when the 1952 allocations table was being constructed insisted on the educational allocation be a VHF channel if there were any available. It's why, for example, why San Francisco and Sacramento got VHFs but Los Angeles and San Diego got UHFs.
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In Raleigh-Durham NC the PBS station (not called PBS yet) was Channel 4, early in the process. That station eded up being the flagship for the statewide network. There were two VHF network affiliates and as recently as 1970, only one of the Big Three had a full-time affiliate, and of course that was one of the VHF stations.

Charleston SC got VHF stations for the Big Three and for PBS (before there was PBS).

 

[Y2kTheNewOldies]

On the radio side, there is no market exclusivity for NPR programming. So I imagine PBS operates with the same rules.

True in some cases the NPR affiliate also serves as part of the statewide network too like in Georgia, New Jersey, Oregon and Hawaii most notably with translators spread all over the state. In the case of Minnesota Public Media is a statewide NPR affiliate. Note Minnesota Public Media also manages KPCC Los Angeles the NPR News talk station in the Southland.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Public_Media_Group

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KPCC_(radio_station)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Public_Radio