Dothan To Get Its Own NBC Station

[R.D.P.]

Taken from the wonderful Alabama Broadcast Media Page web site.

Dothan to get a local NBC affiliate.
Some news from the television broadcasting world as it's announced that Dothan will be picking up its own NBC affiliate. It's expected to debut this fall on analog low power translator WDON-LP.

Yes, that's right, a low power analog translator. Those of you using OTA who were hoping for a local signal to catch NBC in glorious high definition are going to be out of luck for now.

The translator originally carried TBN (Trinity Broadcasting Network), a religious network. The translator, known then as W41BN, was donated along with hundreds of other TBN properties to the MMTC (Minority Media and Telecommunications Council), who turned around and sold this and a few other small market translators to a new company called New Moon Communications. New Moon is planning on launching NBC in several small markets, detailed in the link, above.

As a translator the station will not have must carry rights on local cable outlets, so there's no guarantee they'll replace Dothan's current NBC outlets on cable, WSFA from Montgomery and WJHG from Panama City. But if they do, Dothan cable viewers may lose their HDTV feeds of NBC unless New Moon applies for a digital permit.

R.D.P. <><

 

[tomservo]

I sent an e-mail to New Moon via their website to ask if they plan to upgrade the LPTV to digital. I'll let you know if they write back.

I'd hate to think in this day and age that anyone would think it's OK to put a major network on an analog-only signal in any market, no matter how small.

 

[Poledo]

If NBC is coming to WDON-LP it will be upgraded to LD and may broadcast in 1080i. There's no way NBC/Comcast would give WSFA's secondary market affiliation away to an inferior station... and they're not. This appears to be Comcast creating a cable only NBC for Dothan and simulcasting it on WDON-LP.
I didn't know WJHG was on cable in Alabama. Gray already owns the big boy, WTVY, so they won't fight WDON replacing WJHG/WSFA on Comcast cable in Dothan. I would also guess that WDON-LD will have some type of relationship with Raycom/WDFX/WSFA. NBC will want a 10PM newscast. Raycom/WDFX/WSFA can provide a 10PM newscast without starting from scratch (too expensive for Dothan). Look to Albany, GA and WALB's new ABC 10-2 for hints of how this may play out. No one will loose their NBC-HD on Comcast cable in Dothan. Other cable systems and Dish/DirecTV might hold on to WSFA and/or WJHG though...

NBC + Comcast + 10PM local news + Raycom = a cable only station simulcast on WDON-LP. Seems unnecessary to me... but I guess if Comcast and Raycom are both actively trying to sell commercial spots, there might be a buck to be made.

I type too much.

 

[msugrad2000]

NBC will want a 10 p.m. newscast... maybe/maybe not. Commonwealth Broadcasting, owner of WABG-TV, an ABC affiliate in Greenwood:Greenville, MS, started up WNBN-LD to bring an NBC affiliate to the Mississippi Delta. Currently, they don't have any news other than the NBC News at 5:30 cst. and the overnight news that NBC provides.

 

[tomservo]

NBC will want a 10 p.m. newscast... maybe/maybe not. Commonwealth Broadcasting, owner of WABG-TV, an ABC affiliate in Greenwood:Greenville, MS, started up WNBN-LD to bring an NBC affiliate to the Mississippi Delta. Currently, they don't have any news other than the NBC News at 5:30 cst. and the overnight news that NBC provides.

I heard talk of them adding a newscast to WNBD-LP but as far as I know they do a little ten minute "10 pm update" using the WABG anchors and set.

Maybe NBC will make an exception to the news requirement because these are tiny markets?

 

[Nate Wesley]

If NBC is coming to WDON-LP it will be upgraded to LD and may broadcast in 1080i. There's no way NBC/Comcast would give WSFA's secondary market affiliation away to an inferior station... and they're not. This appears to be Comcast creating a cable only NBC for Dothan and simulcasting it on WDON-LP.

Someone first posted this story on the National TV board Wednesday, IIRC. poledo, it's spot-on that you mention LD stations--there are already LD licenses or CPs that have been approved for Dothan-proper. Judging from the coverage estimates, here's the best two (hat tip to TripinVa's RabbitEars.info):

• WJJN-LD, currently off the air, yet is listed as the RTV affiliate for Dothan. It's hard to see how NBC wouldn't want to partner with them given their coverage--WJJN even maps to virtual channel 5 (RF channel 49).
• W18DY-D at channel 18, which would probably find a new virtual channel because of full powered WDHN-DT

I've got a guess as to why they're going this route with WDON-LP and the MMTC--someone wants to look good in the eyes of the FCC and diversity in media ownership. Which is good, but they're going about it in a most ironic way: WJJN is owned by Wilson Broadcasting, the same African-American owned company that owns hip-hop WJJN 92.1, urban AC/gospel WAGF 101.3, and talk radio WAGF 1320. And W18DY is a license owned by Richardson Broadcast Corp., the same [Gary] Richardson running WJLD 1400/104.1 in Birmingham.

 

[Poledo]

I typed this yesterday but had to go to work before I finished. That's why it turned out so long. It's just speculation, but it all seems to make sense to me given the parties involved (NBC/Comcast/Raycom).

Dothan can't support three local 10 PM newscasts. Tallahassee couldn't either, NBC-40 in Tally carries a weather report produced by sister station WEAR-Pensacola and a sitcom from 11-11:35PM. It's my understanding that all of the big three (ABC, CBS and NBC) want their affiliates to have a 10 PM (central time) newscast. I believe they'll try to get one in Dothan. That's where Raycom comes in... I believe they will be best prepared to cheaply provide news in the 10PM time slot. Raycom has a 9 PM newscast on WDFX/Fox Dothan that could be rerun on NBC Dothan. Montgomery's WSFA news could also be simulcast on NBC Dothan (Dothan has always had WSFA's news, why not keep it?). I believe NBC Dothan will launch with 10pm news or add it soon after launch, I don't believe it will be live and local. Whether it lasts long before being replaced with reruns of Andy Griffith... who knows.
The Dothan DMA can not support a full power NBC affiliate because WJHG, WALB, and WSFA are all very strong, significantly viewed, NBC affiliates and have secondary coverage in different parts of the Dothan market. NBC's new owner, Comcast, will make sure NBC Dothan is launched, at least on Comcast, in full 1080i HD. Perhaps it will take a while to upgrade WDON to broadcast in HD?

So here you have a perfect storm. Comcast goes into business with a minority broadcaster to launch NBC Dothan, OTA, on WDON, centered where the current NBC signals are weakest... inside Ross-Clark Circle. NBC/WDON-LP will have room for sub channels... say Bounce TV or MeTv, etc... and Comcast Dothan may even give WDON a decent deal to carry their subs on the basic lineup (a benefit of the Comcast/NBC merger!).
Here's where they bring Raycom/WSFA on board so WSFA doesn't insist on "Significantly Viewed - Must Carry" on Comcast Dothan. Raycom can produce, re-run or simulcast a newscast on NBC Dothan and also help sell some advertising targeted at the Houston county instead of Montgomery and all of South/Central Alabama. Comcast already has a cable advertising department in place to sell commercials in Dothan. After the new NBC Dothan station becomes profitable, the minority owner of WDON-LD could choose to establish their own sales department... targeting a small part of the Wiregrass.... or just stay in bed with Comcast and/or Raycom for commercial sales... or outright sell the low power NBC to Raycom. I don't think Comcast can own a TV station in a market where they own a cable system... can Comcast own a low power TV station in Dothan? I don't think they would want to, it would be better for them for the station to be minority owned.
I assume Dish/DirecTV will keep WSFA for NBC. I don't know who owns cable systems in Enterprise, Ozark, or other parts of the Dothan DMA. WDON may not be carried outside Houston county. WDON will not have the extensive cable carriage that WDHN and WTVY have, even if Raycom buys WDON-LP and simulcasts NBC on WDFX DT-2.

All speculation. I wasted a lot of time editing this post.

 

[jsu5381m]

Maybe Jeopardy will finally have a Dothan affiliate.

 

[Poledo]

I'm surprised Jeopardy isn't carried on My WTVY-DT-2 or CW WTVY-DT-3. Is Jeopardy carried on WSFA or WAKA in Montgomery? If it is or recently was on WSFA, I guess that could explain why it isn't on a local Dothan station.

As far as WJHG being on cable in Dothan, how long has WJHG - NBC 7 from Panama City been carried on cable in Dothan? I know they carry Jeopardy for the Panama City market. Is Jeopardy blacked out on WJHG on cable in Dothan? What NBC station(s) are carried on Dish/DirectTV in the Dothan DMA?
I thought WSAF was the sole NBC affiliate for all counties in the South East quarter of the state of Alabama, from Andalusia to the Georgia state line and from the Florida state line north to Alexander City/Auburn... with the possible exception of the Phenix City area. WSFA's massive signal (at least it was as analog channel 12) should also extend it's cable coverage to the west... well past Selma to some BFE area where Meridian's NBC would probably take over as the Primary NBC affiliate before you reach the Mississippi state line (maybe near Demopolis?)

If WTVY-DT1 (CBS) carries Wheel (and I assume WSFA also carries Wheel), is there anything that prevents another, no duopoly owned, station from carrying Jeopardy? If Jeopardy has not been carried recently (or is it ever?) in Dothan proper, I'd like to know why WDHN or WDFX never picked up Jeopardy.

 

[StrayKats]

no, WSFA does not carry Jeopardy! WAKA (CBS) carries Jeopardy at the woefully inconvenient time of 9:30 AM and Wheel of Fortune at the compliant Central Time Zone time of 6:30 PM.

 

[tomservo]

According to Zap2It, Comcast, Knology and Time Warner Cable carry both WJHG and WSFA, Dish carries WJHG only and DirecTV shows "WNBC 12", which I guess is a remapped distant from NYC.

For HD, it appears Comcast and Knology carry WJHG HD, while TWC carries WSFA HD.

 

[Poledo]

According to Zap2It, Comcast, Knology and Time Warner Cable carry both WJHG and WSFA, Dish carries WJHG only and DirecTV shows "WNBC 12", which I guess is a remapped distant from NYC.

For HD, it appears Comcast and Knology carry WJHG HD, while TWC carries WSFA HD.

That is one bizarre setup. In the '80s and early '90s I spent a whole lotta time near Ozark and Enterprise, but not so much in Dothan/Houston County. The only NBC station we ever watched was WSFA... even though WJHG and occasionally WALB were available, we considered WSFA the local NBC.
On the other hand WAKA's OTA analog signal back then was almost as good as WTVY's... but we were loyal and watched the local WTVY. In the Ozark area we watched WTVM and while near Enterprise we watched WMBB for ABC... but we didn't watch ABC much because it wasn't on a local VHF station. We never, ever, watched WDHN... unless we we over in the Lake Seminole area (where we had cable that carried three different ABC affiliates and we didn't have to deal with the UHF antenna). The UHF antenna, as simple as those loops were, was just not worth the trouble and we rarely watched Fox on WCOV or the newer WDFX. It's hard to believe time changes things.

It'll be interesting to see how NBC Dothan develops. I'm sure that Comcast will have an interest in it, but how will Raycom, (or Gray or WDHN) be involved (if at all) and will NBC grant the low power station primary affiliation for the whole Dothan DMA or just the city of Dothan? If the new NBC Dothan does get the whole Dothan DMA, will they be able to get on WDFX DT-2, WDHN's DT-2, or will NBC Dothan start low power stations to simulcast in Enterprise and Ozark (perhaps Andalusia/Opp also)... (hey, they could become the most advertiser friendly network in the Wiregrass... doing local advertisement inserts in each city if they go this way!) Will they just build a new full power TV station somewhere around Fort Rucker? Better yet, could this just be the beginning of NBC migrating over to cable only stations under the new ownership of Comcast, just like many people predicted before the FCC approved the sale/merger.

I typed all this because of a little LPTV station in DMA # 169 :-[
I think I did this because the newspaper says it'll cost me a $400 fine if I shoot off a bottle rocket tonight.