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Channel 5 is off the air

K

KeithE4

Doesn't affect Cox or satellite customers, but apparently the South Mountain transmitter blew up this morning. Antenna viewers (like me) and outlying-area cable systems are still stuck without them.

Fortunately the basketball games are streamed by CBSSports.com (and not restricted like the Turner channels are).

Link: KPHO-TV
 
Don't forget that broadcast viewers who depend on translators are
affected as well. The Mingus Mtn translator, K40AD-D which rebroadcasts
KPHO to viewers and to K30JD-D Prescott and K50HU-D Flagstaff are also
off the air.
 
"Thank you for calling CBS5. This is Bailey. How may I help you?"

"Can you make an announcement and tell people that you are off the air?"

"How can we tell people that we are off the air when we are off the air?!?!?"

;D
 
But for those who were able to watch KPHO-TV (Cox Cable for example)...

Why wasn't the Arizona game on KPHO late this afternoon? I found it on
one of the supplemental cable channels.

Does the NC2A feed on CBS no longer feature in-state teams, as in the past?
 
oldiesfan6479 said:
Does the NC2A feed on CBS no longer feature in-state teams, as in the past?
Click to expand...

Each game is fixed on one channel, and that's arranged sometime between Sunday and Thursday. That's been the case for at least a couple of years. "Local" doesn't matter.
 
Maybe Channel 5 made a deal with some sports bars that have DirecTV where they shut down their transmitter to give them some extra business from cord cutters during the NCAA tournament? ;)

If this had been five years ago, when KPHO added two extra subchannels for the first rounds of March Madness, there would be a little bit of uproar. That all changed after the current CBS/Turner contract went into effect.

Speaking of subchannels, it appears that no one is missing "Weather Now." I suppose Cox takes that over the air since it isn't much of a moneymaker for the station.
 
formeraa said:
Is "Weather Now" gone??? I used to turn to it when I wanted to hear the whole "Enforcer" theme music package. :D
Click to expand...

"Weather Now" is still around...when their transmitter is working. It's a waste of DTV bandwidth, but KPHO management, for some strange reason, hasn't dropped it. They don't get that there's better uses for that subchannel space.
 
The thing is - Channel 5 isn't hurt all that much by not transmitting over the air. 85-90% of the TV audience watches local stations via Cox, Dish, or DirecTV. The rest of us geezers and/or poor folk are poison to advertisers anyway.

I'm sure Meredith and its advertisers aren't losing a lot of sleep over the time it's taking to fix a UHF transmitter that comparatively few people use. In fact, I'll be willing to bet that KPHO actually loses money operating that transmitter. I can see the cost of running it being higher than the revenue it generates if only 10-15% of their viewers use it.
 
Eric Stein said:
formeraa said:
Is "Weather Now" gone??? I used to turn to it when I wanted to hear the whole "Enforcer" theme music package. :D
Click to expand...

"Weather Now" is still around...when their transmitter is working. It's a waste of DTV bandwidth, but KPHO management, for some strange reason, hasn't dropped it. They don't get that there's better uses for that subchannel space.
Click to expand...

Sorry, I misinterpreted your post. You obviously meant missing it when the transmitter is down. I watch "Weather Now" for a few minutes, when I've missed a newscast or the rare occasion that there is a storm in the area.
 
Outside of Metro Phoenix, where we more frequently have rain, snow,
high winds, hail and even an occasional tornado, the WeatherNow
sub-channel 5.2, is really very much appreciated!!!!
 
I think 12.2 has a better presentation for their weather subchannel, especially when it comes to placement of their mandatory three-hour block of educational shows. Channel 5 must not think serious weather occurs in Sunday afternoons.
 
KeithE4 said:
The thing is - Channel 5 isn't hurt all that much by not transmitting over the air. 85-90% of the TV audience watches local stations via Cox, Dish, or DirecTV. The rest of us geezers and/or poor folk are poison to advertisers anyway.

I'm sure Meredith and its advertisers aren't losing a lot of sleep over the time it's taking to fix a UHF transmitter that comparatively few people use. In fact, I'll be willing to bet that KPHO actually loses money operating that transmitter. I can see the cost of running it being higher than the revenue it generates if only 10-15% of their viewers use it.
Click to expand...

You might be surprised. TVB reports the OTA-only percentage for Phoenix at 15.9%, which is comparable to the 16.6% reported for the DMA that I live in (Dallas-Fort Worth). And after the DTV transition, when CBS had reception problems with their O&O station here in DFW, they took those problems very seriously and took measures to resolve them by moving to a new channel where they could boost power. They wouldn't have bothered to do that for a loss leader -- so that tells me that there continues to be value in the OTA transmitter, at least in markets like Phoenix, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Minneapolis-ST Paul that continue to have significant levels of OTA viewing.
 
TexasTom said:
And after the DTV transition, when CBS had reception problems with their O&O station here in DFW, they took those problems very seriously and took measures to resolve them by moving to a new channel where they could boost power. They wouldn't have bothered to do that for a loss leader -- so that tells me that there continues to be value in the OTA transmitter, at least in markets like Phoenix, Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Minneapolis-ST Paul that continue to have significant levels of OTA viewing.
Click to expand...

Channel 10, the Fox O&O in Phoenix, did much the same when their primary digital signal was having (and continues to have) major problems. They are using a sub-channel of their MyNet partner to broadcast an SD version of their HD primary signal.
 
Actually, channel 5 was back on the air Friday evening. Not sure of the actual time, but Letterman was on.

A few questions, though.... Doesn't channel 5 have a backup transmitter? Are they even necessary these days? How about the other stations? Just wonderin'
 
Mike said:
Actually, channel 5 was back on the air Friday evening. Not sure of the actual time, but Letterman was on.

A few questions, though.... Doesn't channel 5 have a backup transmitter? Are they even necessary these days? How about the other stations? Just wonderin'
Click to expand...

Someone opined the other day that having a backup transmitter for 15% of viewers may not make economic sense.
 
Sorry but 15 percent seems like a big chunk of viewership to loss IMO and in this ever increasing grab for the pie to even think that a channel would brush that off as insignificant is crazy.
 
ShowLow said:
Sorry but 15 percent seems like a big chunk of viewership to loss IMO and in this ever increasing grab for the pie to even think that a channel would brush that off as insignificant is crazy.
Click to expand...

You have to analyze this in the same context as the entire audience is measured. That is, not just total numbers but money demos. I'm going to guess that the majority of OTA viewers are at either end of the economic spectrum: either too poor to subscribe to cable/sat or 60+ and not interested. In Phoenix another disadvantage might be the number of Spanish-speaking viewers watching OTA so they can view Spanish language subs (which don't tend to be on cable/sat).

I don't know what the right number is but strongly guess that 15% might be an over estimate of the number of OTA viewers and their demo might not be a money demo. Since the cost of operating an OTA signal can be accurately determined the station might feel that the numbers and demos of their OTA audience don't pay for it.
 
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