Channel alocations

[Kenny Atkinson]

Here in Providence with WPRI moving to Digital ch 13 and WNAC moving to channel 12,10 to 51 etc...

Has anyone heard of any promoting of the new channel positions in their imaging

for ex..."Doppler13", NBC51,Fox12 etc....
I havent heard anything or are they just going to keep it the way it is?

 

[tripinva]

It will stay as it is. The FCC requires stations to continue mapping to their analog channel numbers, even after the analog channels are gone, so there's no reason to change branding.

- Trip

 

[KML0224]

The only change I ask for is that WCTX-TV/DT (MY) in New Haven go back to using their WCTX call letters. They presently call themselves "MY-TV 9", referring to their cable position in most of the market (including Comcast in New Britain and Hartford). They haven't used "59" in any of their promos and IDs since they were a WB affiliate before 2001.

 

[RadioMan203]

The only change I ask for is that WCTX-TV/DT (MY) in New Haven go back to using their WCTX call letters. They presently call themselves "MY-TV 9", referring to their cable position in most of the market (including Comcast in New Britain and Hartford). They haven't used "59" in any of their promos and IDs since they were a WB affiliate before 2001.

Many other "My TV" affiliates do this, as does WWOR-TV calls themselves "M-TVy9" and they happen to actually be on 9. WCTX calling themselves "My-TV 9" suggests just how illiterate we've become or the television industry thinks their viewers are.

 

[fybush]

The only change I ask for is that WCTX-TV/DT (MY) in New Haven go back to using their WCTX call letters. They presently call themselves "MY-TV 9", referring to their cable position in most of the market (including Comcast in New Britain and Hartford). They haven't used "59" in any of their promos and IDs since they were a WB affiliate before 2001.

Many other "My TV" affiliates do this, as does WWOR-TV calls themselves "M-TVy9" and they happen to actually be on 9. WCTX calling themselves "My-TV 9" suggests just how illiterate we've become or the television industry thinks their viewers are.

This one seems to touch such a nerve among (a few of) the posters here.

But consider - the Hartford market has some of the highest cable penetration in the country: 86% in the last figures I saw.

Even if we accept that a few outlying systems that carry WCTX do so on a channel other than 9, my bet is that at least 75% of the potential viewers of WCTX see it as "channel 9" on their TVs or cable boxes - and that no more than 1 in 10 of WCTX's potential viewers sees it as "channel 59."

If I were running a station, I'd certainly brand it with the channel on which 3 of every 4 viewers is seeing it, especially if it's a station with absolutely NO heritage attached to its over-the-air channel number (unlike 61 or 20, which somewhat predated the massive cable penetration in the state.)

So there's also a "My 9" in the next market over? So what? I'm pretty sure the only area where WCTX and WWOR both appear on cable is Fairfield County, and that's not exactly prime sales territory for WCTX. (Or WWOR.)

What's more, WWOR was long gone from Hartford-market cable systems by the time it was ever promoting itself as "My 9."

Illiterate? Hardly. It's just sound promotion - brand yourself the way the vast majority of your viewers see you. Why should a cable viewer know, or care, about "channel 59"? It's irrelevant to them.

 

[RadioMan203]

Illiterate? Hardly. It's just sound promotion - brand yourself the way the vast majority of your viewers see you. Why should a cable viewer know, or care, about "channel 59"? It's irrelevant to them.

While I don't remember how is appears on Dish, on my DirecTV channel 59 is ACTUALLY channel 59, as odd as that may be.

I suppose this could be akin to the radio side of things such as New York's former 99X, Westport's WEBE-108, or Hartford's WTIC-FM back in the "96-ticks" days where the actual dial position wasn't/isn't exactly reflected by their on-air imaging slogan or statement.

I suppose it bothers me more what a hap-hazard manner WCTX is operated in contrast to their imaging statement, but that's for another thread.

 

[radiolives]

As for WCTX DTV signal which is 39-1 I believe does that relocate to channel 9 on the digital box?

 

[tripinva]

As for WCTX DTV signal which is 39-1 I believe does that relocate to channel 9 on the digital box?

It should show as 59-1. If it shows as 9-1, they're in violation of FCC rules.

- Trip

 

[necrat123]

It should show as 59-1. If it shows as 9-1, they're in violation of FCC rules.
- Trip

It's only a violation if they don't map to 59.1. There are stations dual-mapping. (It's not difficult to do at the station level).
I think the rules on this are poorly written to begin with...

 

[tripinva]

It's only a violation if they don't map to 59.1. There are stations dual-mapping. (It's not difficult to do at the station level).
I think the rules on this are poorly written to begin with...

The FCC adopted ATSC A/65 in full, and grants exceptions for stations to map to their physical channel number in some cases (WUPA had one for a while, and I know KAIL and KCVU have waivers at least). That spec directs stations to map to their "major channel number" which in this case is 59. I've yet to hear of the FCC allowing a station to map to a channel that is neither its analog nor digital nor, in the case of translators, the translator input channel's mapped channel. I recall KSWB in San Diego attempted to map to 5-1 and got fined.

- Trip

 

[oldschooltv]

This one seems to touch such a nerve among (a few of) the posters here.

But consider - the Hartford market has some of the highest cable penetration in the country: 86% in the last figures I saw.

Even if we accept that a few outlying systems that carry WCTX do so on a channel other than 9, my bet is that at least 75% of the potential viewers of WCTX see it as "channel 9" on their TVs or cable boxes - and that no more than 1 in 10 of WCTX's potential viewers sees it as "channel 59."

If I were running a station, I'd certainly brand it with the channel on which 3 of every 4 viewers is seeing it, especially if it's a station with absolutely NO heritage attached to its over-the-air channel number (unlike 61 or 20, which somewhat predated the massive cable penetration in the state.)

So there's also a "My 9" in the next market over? So what? I'm pretty sure the only area where WCTX and WWOR both appear on cable is Fairfield County, and that's not exactly prime sales territory for WCTX. (Or WWOR.)

What's more, WWOR was long gone from Hartford-market cable systems by the time it was ever promoting itself as "My 9."

Illiterate? Hardly. It's just sound promotion - brand yourself the way the vast majority of your viewers see you. Why should a cable viewer know, or care, about "channel 59"? It's irrelevant to them.

Right, but it trumps the history of TV around here. Before cable - in this area at least, just south of Waterbury - the only stations you saw were 2, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, and 20 from what I remember. Channel 9 was always WWOR for as long as I've been alive. When cable came here, WWOR went on cable channel 9 too. And I'm not talking about cable companies in the CT (Fairfield County) section of the NYC market, I'm talking it was even on cable channel 9 outside the NYC market in New Haven and Litchfield counties (Hartford-New Haven market) as well.

After 40+ years of WWOR on channel 9 both OTA and on cable in most of Southern and Western CT, here comes WCTX capitalizing on this history first as UPN9 then MyTV9. You can't just expect people to shrug it off or pretend like they can't tell the difference between WWOR and the Connecticut replica - because it's like night and day, as the saying goes "often immitated, but never duplicated". It's also destroying a common television tradition that has existed here for decades as most of us grew up watching WWOR over rabbit ears. This was the station of Romper Room and New York sports.

I know times change and things move on. And I will also concede that it's one of the smartest things WTNH/WCTX has ever come up with, cloning and feeding off the tradition and brand recognition of a station (WWOR Channel 9) that has been available to Connecticut residents since the first TVs were plugged in here. At the same time it's dirty marketing, and definitely strikes a nerve with a lot of us.

One good thing, if MyTV goes belly up as some have been saying lately, WWOR and WCTX might end up going with different brand names. Maybe the folks in New Haven will go back to calling it "the X" which I thought was neat and unique at the time.

What's more, WWOR was long gone from Hartford-market cable systems by the time it was ever promoting itself as "My 9."

While WWOR doesn't have the cable coverage it used to have, that's not true. WWOR can still be found on cable in New Haven and Litchfield counties. In New Haven County it's on at least 2 Comcast franchises, as well as the Cablevision franchise. In Litchfield County, it's on at least 2 Comcast franchises and 1 Charter franchise, that I know of. I could write out all of these towns if you'd like, but it'd take too long, how about it's on cable almost everywhere west of roughly Route 10 and maybe south of 202 until you get to New Milford-Sherman.

 

[KML0224]

We were stuck with their EMI-Eastern Microwave Service for a few years here in New Britain, CT. The old Hartford/New Haven Edition of TV Guide used to list over-the-air UPN 9 under New York City and the EMI version under the Cable/Pay TV section. I wonder if those within 200 miles of Chicago outside of the DMA saw dual listings for WGN?

 

[radiolives]

Just something else to add about WCTX. I bet if they never switched from WB to UPN with WTXX they might of changed from WB 59 and just go WB 9. Just a thought.