Crappy Hotel "Cable" Report - Bedford Park, IL

[KML0224]

Thanks for your comments Scott! You are right on many accounts there. I was one of those people who used to buy TV Guide from the other cities I went to and was VERY interested as to what TV those areas offered. Coming back to 2010, I was lucky if I watched maybe 30 minutes of TV in those two days. Like last time, I had my Panasonic AM/FM/CD player "Walkman" with me. This time I also had my laptop, which took up most of my time once the wi-fi signal connected. It's gonna be interesting to see what gets served up in Columbus, OH this weekend. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that a big Time-Warner Cable area? If it helps, the hotel's zip code is 43219.

 

[fybush]

Most of Columbus is Time Warner, yes. Just plug the 43219 zip into Zap2it.com and it will show you what the cable system for that area is...

 

[KML0224]

Well I will do just that then! Thanks for the tip!

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

43219 in Zap2It.com offers TWC, Insight and WOW Cable as options. I don't know where all the companies serve in the area, though there's at least overlap with WOW because it's an alternative system.

My gut tells me if you do have cable at the hotel, it'll be TWC.

You get one "bonus"...Cleveland's WUAB/43 "My 43" is firmly entrenched in the TWC Mid-Ohio analog lineup, and has been there for decades.

Columbus' MyNet affiliate is a subchannel of WSYX, but it's likely 43's historic carriage of Cleveland sports that got it on cable in Columbus way-back-when when it was an indie...they still carry about 5 Cavaliers' games a year via primary rightsholder Fox Sports Ohio (which is also on cable there, of course).

 

[azumanga]

You get one "bonus"...Cleveland's WUAB/43 "My 43" is firmly entrenched in the TWC Mid-Ohio analog lineup, and has been there for decades.

Amazed that WUAB is still available on Columbus cable, considering that everything on that channel is available everywhere else, other than local news.

Also, were there any syndex blackouts in the last 20 years on WUAB?

 

[KML0224]

I did indeed see WUAB on the lineup. The cable also carried WGN America, too. Some of their ads were inserted over the local channel 9 ones, but the news and the Illinois Lottery drawings went through as is.

 

[fybush]

I did indeed see WUAB on the lineup. The cable also carried WGN America, too. Some of their ads were inserted over the local channel 9 ones, but the news and the Illinois Lottery drawings went through as is.

You've never seen WGN America before, I take it?

The ads aren't "inserted over" the local channel 9 ones. There are two separate (but adjacent) control rooms at the WGN facility, one running WGN-TV, the other running WGN America. For the most part these days, they're two completely separate services. The only time they're running the same programming is during the 12-1 PM (CT) hour of the midday news (it starts at 11 AM on WGN-TV), the Nine O'Clock News and most sports broadcasts. And even then, they're running separate spot loads. The WGN America master control room is getting the same feed from the local news/sports control room that the WGN-TV MCR gets. Each service inserts its own spots and promos.

 

[KML0224]

Correct Scott! I don't think there's a single cable system in the state of Connecticut which carries WGN America. It was fun to watch the station, even if it was for about a half hour in an Ohio hotel room. It would be nice if WWOR-TV had their EMI Service. Oh well! Maybe if WPIX could extend their reach into Connecticut? Hmmmm!

 

[kenrayc]

Correct Scott! I don't think there's a single cable system in the state of Connecticut which carries WGN America. It was fun to watch the station, even if it was for about a half hour in an Ohio hotel room. It would be nice if WWOR-TV had their EMI Service. Oh well! Maybe if WPIX could extend their reach into Connecticut? Hmmmm!

With Dish Network you get all 3 WPIX,WWOR, WGN America, and on top of that KTLA, KWGN, and ch38 Boston(couldn't think of the call letter right off hand).

 

[KML0224]

Their call letter are WSBK-DT (IND). I should've have specified and meant to say "cable-only" when referring to nobody carrying WGN America.

 

[fybush]

Their call letter are WSBK-DT (IND).

Their call letters are WSBK-TV. As Doug will shortly be along to explain, stations with the "-DT" suffix automagically reverted to "-TV" suffixes at the end of the transition, unless they specifically requested to retain "-DT."

 

[KML0224]

OK, so I stand corrected. Anyways...has anybody else here stayed in or around this same hotel complex and had the same "cable" lineup as I had reported?

 

[radiorob2.0]

i'm staying at the Kahler Inn & Suites in Rochester, MN & they have Lodgenet through Charter Communications... according to the channel guide card in the room

there channel line up is:

2- HBO
3- KIMT (CBS) which has snow on it & says 'hotel info

Yes, only 1 movie channel

HBO was inserted on the hotel line up as whatever was on Channel 2 was filtered out. The snow on Channel 3 was a byproduct of the filter.

 

[Sammi Brie]

i'm staying at the Kahler Inn & Suites in Rochester, MN & they have Lodgenet through Charter Communications... according to the channel guide card in the room

there channel line up is:

2- HBO
3- KIMT (CBS) which has snow on it & says 'hotel info

Yes, only 1 movie channel

HBO was inserted on the hotel line up as whatever was on Channel 2 was filtered out. The snow on Channel 3 was a byproduct of the filter.

Yeah, kinda bad placement (a look at the cable lineup shows the actual 2 is KTCA-PBS from the Twin Cities). 17 is now blank on that system, so I'd just move HBO (the cable system does carry both Twin Cities and MSP locals - except for KARE, but then again, there's probably a reason QVC is on 11) over to 17, which snows out local access 18. Then again, having HBO on 2 is probably lucrative looking to a few certain people. The system is good at putting channels with their right numbers (except for KXLT, of course, which they put on 8). That is Charter's lineup plus HBO on 2 plus LodgeNet services (though the lineup seems to have changed slightly of course).

 

[compubit]

I travel a lot.

These days, my travel kit includes a DTV tuner and antenna, so I'm much less concerned than I used to be about what's on the hotel's own TV lineup.

Ditto here, but also, I visit tvfool.com to figure out where the broadcast towers are for the market and request a "room up high with a view" (so to speak). ;D

Lately, though, I'm finding more and more hotels with flat panels with locals in HD - hooking up my tuner, the locals are often clear QAM, but other cable channels are often encrypted...

Jim

 

[mbclev]

When I was in Pittsburgh back in June to see the Cleveland Indians play the Pirates, I stayed at the Comfort Inn in Robinson Township, near where U.S. 22/30 and PA route 60 intersect, and the room I was in had a Comcast DTA box. Thus, there was a large choice of channels, because I think much of the digital lineup was on there.

 

[TheRob]

OK, so I stand corrected. Anyways...has anybody else here stayed in or around this same hotel complex and had the same "cable" lineup as I had reported?

I just stayed at the Airport Inn in Salt Lake City, and I might have a crappy cable lineup competitive to your stay in Bedford Park, Illinois.

3. KTVX - ABC (4)
6. KUTV - CBS (2)
8. KSL-TV - NBC (5)
10. KSTU - FOX (13)
12. KUED - PBS (7)
15. RTV
16. KUCW
17. Univision
18. HBO
21. HBO 2
22. HBO Signature
23. ESPN
24. ESPN 2
25. Fox News
26. TBS
27. TNT
28. USA
29. CNN
30. Cartoon
31. Disney
32. E!
33. Speed
34. Discovery
35. Learning

 

[Sammi Brie]

OK, so I stand corrected. Anyways...has anybody else here stayed in or around this same hotel complex and had the same "cable" lineup as I had reported?

I just stayed at the Airport Inn in Salt Lake City, and I might have a crappy cable lineup competitive to your stay in Bedford Park, Illinois.

3. KTVX - ABC (4)
6. KUTV - CBS (2)
8. KSL-TV - NBC (5)
10. KSTU - FOX (13)
12. KUED - PBS (7)
15. RTV
16. KUCW
17. Univision
18. HBO
21. HBO 2
22. HBO Signature
23. ESPN
24. ESPN 2
25. Fox News
26. TBS
27. TNT
28. USA
29. CNN
30. Cartoon
31. Disney
32. E!
33. Speed
34. Discovery
35. Learning

It's OK. It's obvious that they've gutted VHF and 14-KJZZ to avoid multipath in the analog era - but yet KUEN and KBYU and KJZZ are not there. And if you think KUCW is an odd pick...let's remember that KSL decided to keep its "SportsBeat Saturday" show after the late news when it switched from CBS.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

Bumped as I am en route to a conference and staying at the Red Roof Inn off Larkin Road (IL-7) in Joliet, IL (off I-80 Exit 130). Here's their hotel cable (based off Direct TV) in all its glory:

2-WBBM (CBS)
5-WMAQ (NBC)
7-WLS (ABC)
8-Speed (unusual placement on the cable dial for that channel, IMO)
9-WGN (CW) (local Chicago version)
11-WTTW (PBS)
13-WFLD (Fox 32)
14-CNN
15-Headline News
16-Fox News
17-Weather Channel
18-ESPN
21-ESPN Classic
22-ESPN News
23-ESPN 2
24-Cartoon Network
25-USA
26-TNT
27-TBS
28-Discovery
29-GAC
30-HBO
31-HBO 2
32-CMT
60-Previews, PPV

And that's it--no other Chicago locals, "No Se Habla Espanol" (i.e. no WSNS, WGBO), no kids' channels outside of Cartoon Network (Nick, Disney, etc.). Not even the legendary WJYS-62 graces this lineup.

 

[azumanga]

And that's it--no other Chicago locals, "No Se Habla Espanol" (i.e. no WSNS, WGBO), no kids' channels outside of Cartoon Network (Nick, Disney, etc.). Not even the legendary WJYS-62 graces this lineup.

In fact, the channel selection looks quite sparse, as many of the popular channels are missing. Yet there are four ESPN channels. (And no regional sports.)