How Hard Is It For A TV Station To Set Up Subchannels

[OhioMediaWatch]

Or are you saying that people have gotten so lazy they just use the 'channel up' and 'channel down' buttons?

They use the onscreen guide.

How are they supposed to remember that WOIO's WeatherNow is on digital cable channel 372? (Or whatever it is)

372 is a random three digit number that has nothing to do with the station's over-air PSIP number (19), analog cable position (4), or HD cable position (1004).

 

[landtuna]

Or are you saying that people have gotten so lazy they just use the 'channel up' and 'channel down' buttons?

They use the onscreen guide.

How are they supposed to remember that WOIO's WeatherNow is on digital cable channel 372? (Or whatever it is)

372 is a random three digit number that has nothing to do with the station's over-air PSIP number (19), analog cable position (4), or HD cable position (1004).

That was exactly my semi-sarcastic point. When I had cable/sat I used the guide feature to find programming. If I knew I wanted to go to a specific well-known channel I just keyed it in directly. As with my OTA stations I have deleted the ones I never watch (which was most of them on cable/sat) so channel-up or down doesn't have to go through all that many. I can't imagine anyone but the terminally couch-ridden using the channel up/down buttons to search through the entire list of channels.

 

[Joe_Capitano]

I'm not sure what the E/I implications are for a subchannel that would only last for 24 hours. A full-time subchannel must have the same level of children's educational/instructional programming as the main.

Beyond the house minimum (3 hours on the main channel), a station must schedule an additional 30 minutes of "E/I" content within every 28 hours (or portion thereof) of subchannel programming. This additional programming can be carried on any available channel.

For instance: if your subchannel carries 6 hours a day of programming (42 hours a week), the E/I obligation would be increased by one hour.

 

[OhioMediaWatch]

That was exactly my semi-sarcastic point. When I had cable/sat I used the guide feature to find programming. If I knew I wanted to go to a specific well-known channel I just keyed it in directly. As with my OTA stations I have deleted the ones I never watch (which was most of them on cable/sat) so channel-up or down doesn't have to go through all that many. I can't imagine anyone but the terminally couch-ridden using the channel up/down buttons to search through the entire list of channels.

Very true. I was just pointing out that subchannels will still be "hidden" to most people as long as cable systems hide them in "no man's land"...no one is tuning from 4 or 1004 to 372 unless the TV station drills this into people's heads.