abc 33/40 to become abc/68 ? maybe?
http://www.multichannel.com/sites/d...df/May 29 2014 Letter in MB Docket 13-203.pdf
http://www.multichannel.com/sites/d...df/May 29 2014 Letter in MB Docket 13-203.pdf
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interesting gossip
- Thread starter mrjay
- Start date
It seems to be a distinct possibility, reading the stories the Alabama Broadcasters Association is retweeting today (http://twitter.com/ALBroadcasters)
Hard to understand the full scope of what's going on -- there seem to be conflicting reports. But it appears Sinclair Broadcast Group had come up with a scheme to try to "sell" WABM to another company. Some reports say the FCC blocked the deal under the belief that the new buyer was a shell company set up by Sinclair. Either way, they went back to the drawing board and came up with this. The PDF above indicates that Sinclair "intends to move forward" with this new arrangement on channel 68.
It makes sense for Sinclair to move 33/40 to 68.1 and move MyNetworkTV to 68.2 (though it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they just dropped MyTV altogether). Obviously ABC 33/40 local and national programming would be a cash cow for Sinclair in Birmingham, and Birmingham residents would benefit from having 33/40 on a full-power signal atop Red Mountain.
Hard to understand the full scope of what's going on -- there seem to be conflicting reports. But it appears Sinclair Broadcast Group had come up with a scheme to try to "sell" WABM to another company. Some reports say the FCC blocked the deal under the belief that the new buyer was a shell company set up by Sinclair. Either way, they went back to the drawing board and came up with this. The PDF above indicates that Sinclair "intends to move forward" with this new arrangement on channel 68.
It makes sense for Sinclair to move 33/40 to 68.1 and move MyNetworkTV to 68.2 (though it wouldn't hurt my feelings if they just dropped MyTV altogether). Obviously ABC 33/40 local and national programming would be a cash cow for Sinclair in Birmingham, and Birmingham residents would benefit from having 33/40 on a full-power signal atop Red Mountain.
Here's coverage today from AL.com: http://www.al.com/business/index.ssf/2014/05/abc_68_birminghams_network_aff.html
Birmingham OTA viewers might benefit but it would be a huge loss to those on the fringes of what is a much bigger DMA than any one station can realistically cover, especially in the digital era. Between WCFT, WBMA-LD and WJSU, ABC 33/40 had "indoor antenna" reception from Pickens County to up into Etowah County and most points in-between. No other Birmingham station can really match that. WUOA-DT 6 might come close with an outdoor antenna but I doubt anyone depends on them for serious news and weather coverage outside of Tuscaloosa.
A follow-up article published May 30 quotes Allbritton's SVP of legal strategic affairs as saying they expect this new deal to close as soon as this month, and added that 33/40's transition to WABM "will be seamless…and the studios and personnel will remain the same." http://www.mediabistro.com/tvspy/al...newsletter&utm_content=title&utm_source=TVSpy
I always found it interesting that 33/40 uses WBMA for the call sign on the LPTV station (the actual ABC affiliate for Birmingham) given WBMA is so similar to channel 68's call sign, WABM. If the ABC affiliation does move to 68, will the new station still be WABM..or...will it become WBMA? Hmmmmm....
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