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Dutchess and Ulster County TV

D

dennis 10

I would like to know why are Albany TV stations are recieved in Dutchess and Ulster County when they are in the NYC DMA. Are those counties covered by Albany TV stations for news especially Poughkeepsie?
Give me more info please.
 
I assume you're talking about cable, right?

Either way... unfortunately the mid-Hudson Valley is in a "hole" when it comes to TV coverage. A news story has to be REALLY big for NYC or Albany to send a crew to places like Beacon, Poughkeepsie or New Paltz.

A quick Google search shows Poughkeepsie is 80 miles from Albany and 83 miles from New York City. Not the kind of driving most TV news crews will make on a regular basis, and the last time I checked... no station from either market had a bureau in the area. Technically, Poughkeepsie and the Mid-Hudson Valley could be its own TV market. That's why the local cable companies have had modest success with their own local news operations. But the NYC market would never give up the household numbers -- that would put a dent in their sales rates.

As far as cable coverage goes, it is weird that some systems, primarily in the northern halves of the counties, carry Albany... when technically both counties are entirely within the NYC DMA. I suspect this may be a throwback to the early days of cable, when the cable companies literally pulled the signals off the air (as opposed to satellite or fiberoptic feeds). After a certain point, you're literally closer to Albany than you are to NYC... so the reception from the Albany stations was likely much stronger than the signals coming from NYC.

Even though today's technology should easily make it possible for northern Dutchess/Ulster cable systems to carry crystal clear signals of the NYC stations, they probably just figure the viewers have had Albany for so long already... no sense in changing it around. If the NYC market ever does (or maybe already did?) enforce must-carry rules, I would expect northern Dutchess/Ulster cable systems to continue carrying Albany in addition to NYC.

Either way, the fact that the mid-Hudson is in a "gray area" too far away to get decent coverage from either Albany or NYC... is a main reason the various local cable news operations are successful. Last I knew, there was one in Wappingers Falls and another one out near Middletown, but it's been so long since I've lived in the area... I'm not too familiar with the boundaries over which cable companies serving the area today.
 
It's all about geography

I went to school in Rhinebeck, which is in across the river from Kingston. WRGB-6 and WTEN-10 come in loud and clear -- they transmit from Heidelberg Mountain southwest of Albany. WNYT-13 (nee WAST) had an iffy signal; its tower is north of Albany to avoid interference with WNET-13 out of New York.

Poughkeepsie has had an OTA station for over 20 years in WTBY-54, an affiliate of the TBN religious network.

Cable depends on where you live:

Cablevision of Wappingers Falls -- NYC locals plus WTBY-54.

Time Warner Kingston -- NYC locals plus WRGB-6, WTEN-10 and WTBY-54.

Time Warner New Paltz -- NYC locals plus WRGB-6 and WTBY-54.

Time Warner Poughkeepsie -- NYC locals plus WTEN-10 and WTBY-54.

Time Warner Rosendale -- NYC locals plus WRGB-6, WTEN-10 and WTBY-54.
 
From a sociological viewpoint, Dutchess and Ulster Counties have more in common with the counties in the Albany metro area than they do with the densely-populated City of NY. Also, decisions made by the State Legislature in Albany have more direct impact on Dutchess and Ulster counties than decisions made in NYC.

There are some NYC commuters who would have a deeper interest in NYC info, and lots of NYC residents escaping to weekend retreats in Dutchess and Ulster counties, making carriage of both markets attractive to local cable operators.
 
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