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Is it possible to NOT subscribe to local channels on cable?

S

ssetta

I have a friend who lives in Plymouth, MA (Comcast, formerly Adelphia), and believe it or not, she actually told me that they do NOT have any of the local channels on cable. Apparently, they got this special deal that would only include everything from Expanded basic onward. I think they figured they go with it just because they really don't watch the local channels at all. It's like they get everything from channel 21 (or so) onward, but they don't get the locals. I didn't even know this was possible on cable, though I know it is on satellite. Has anyone ever heard of this before?
 
ssetta said:
I have a friend who lives in Plymouth, MA (Comcast, formerly Adelphia), and believe it or not, she actually told me that they do NOT have any of the local channels on cable. Apparently, they got this special deal that would only include everything from Expanded basic onward. I think they figured they go with it just because they really don't watch the local channels at all. It's like they get everything from channel 21 (or so) onward, but they don't get the locals. I didn't even know this was possible on cable, though I know it is on satellite. Has anyone ever heard of this before?
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That's certainly interesting. One would think the must-carry rules would make a no-locals installation illegal.
 
This is the first time I had ever heard of this BUT...back in the early 90s, two of our local stations ( Winchester, VA ) the now defunct FOX 60 WYVN and WAZT-TV, Adelphia at the time had their channels so far up the dial ( WYVN was on channel 31, WAZT I think was on 55 ), that neither was part of the basic line-up so in other words, unless one paid for those extra channels like A&E, Lifetime, CNN and the like..well they couldnt get WYVN and WAZT either.

Oddly ( but then again not really a surprise ) WYVN did NOTHING to correct this but WAZT on the other hand tried, even going as far as filing a suit against Adelphia only to later drop that suit. I guess the actions of WAZT upset Adelphia has the cable company later would move WAZT, not to a lower channel but to the upper 90's range.

For WAZT what was once a busy little station complete with local news..today they are on the verge of going dark.
 
I find it very odd that your friend doesn't watch any local channels. Those are usually what people watch most (myself included). How much money is he actually saving by not having locals? On satellite it's usually only about $5/month.
 
First of all, it's a she. But she says it's really weird, too. Though it's entirely possible that they have satellite instead of cable, and she just doesn't know it. For many people with satellite, if you ask them if they have 'cable,' they will say yes. Satellite is really very similar to cable, but of course, it works a different way. And I think there are even several restaurants/bars that have satellite, and no local channels, which is why they always have it on ESPN or one of the major cable sports networks, even if the local football team is playing on one of the major networks.
 
Most Bars in the Philly area have DirecTv and Comcast. DirecTv to get the Sunday Ticket and Comcast to get Comcast SprortsNet Philly and Comcast network Philly (formerly CN8). CSN is not on DirecTv. It is on Verizon. CN Philly is only on Comcast and they have some local Philly games especially in the spring when the Phillies/Sixers/Flyers are playing. Usually one game on CSN, one on CN, and one on a local UHF station. In the rest of the country, if a bar has DirecTv, I highly doubt that they don't pay the extra couple of $ / month to get the local channels. last time I checked, the local NFL teams play on local TV and they are always blacked out on the Sunday Ticket and still local sports teams are on ota stations for at least part of the schedule.
 
ansky212 said:
I find it very odd that your friend doesn't watch any local channels. Those are usually what people watch most (myself included). How much money is he actually saving by not having locals? On satellite it's usually only about $5/month.
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I agree for the most part it does seem odd but as with everything else there are exceptions. For example I am sure there are television viewers who live in Baltimore who would rather watch Washington DC TV than their own (if they could ) only because of work since there are a good many people who live in Baltimore who make that DC commute. The commuter factor is one BIG reason why Western Maryland's NBC 25 WHAG-TV has a problem with a lack of local viewers...too many people in NBC 25's own backyard work in DC or Baltimore so as a result those viewers would much rather watch their TV than their own. But still, again it is odd.
 
Does she rent or own? In Chicago, there are rentals which have, for lack of a better term, have "private" cable. The contract with WOW or Comcast and provide for free (actually it's in your rent) Showtime or HBO and other premium channels. The management rental companies determain which channels go in.

So they aren't really getting cable TV, they are getting channels delivered via the cable company. And if you want more channels you have to pay more.

I've heard of condo associations having their own private cable systems too. They buy the services from the "real" cable company. It's kind of like a premium for the association fees, so the owners think they are getting something solid.
 
That sounds a lot like what they have in many hotels, and even colleges and universities. Northeastern University (where I go to school, and how I know this girl) has its own internal cable service called Husky cable. It has about 117 channels, including all 7 of the HBOs. The service is provided by Comcast, however, it actually has ESPNU, and many channels that would normally only be available on digital cable. I've heard that in some dorms further away from the main campus, students do have an option between Husky cable and real Comcast. Is that also how it is in these rentals?

Though even in rentals, I'd be surprised if they had no local channels at all.
 
ssetta said:
That sounds a lot like what they have in many hotels, and even colleges and universities. Northeastern University (where I go to school, and how I know this girl) has its own internal cable service called Husky cable. It has about 117 channels, including all 7 of the HBOs. The service is provided by Comcast, however, it actually has ESPNU, and many channels that would normally only be available on digital cable. I've heard that in some dorms further away from the main campus, students do have an option between Husky cable and real Comcast. Is that also how it is in these rentals?

Though even in rentals, I'd be surprised if they had no local channels at all.
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Cable being available on a college campus? Gee..I wish mine did !! When I attended the University of Denver back in the last 80s/early 90s...not only did DU at the time didn't allow the dorms to get cable, the ONLY channel I could pick up on campus in my dorm with rabbit ears that had a good signal was KCNC. KWGN on some days they came in OK while on other days..well not so good. But the others, well they came in either very poor ( KRMA, KMGH and KUSA ) or not at all ( KDVR and KTVD ).

Interesting about a year later when I moved to my very own apartment which was across the street from my old dorm, I was able to pick up ALL of the Denver stations very clear and we are talking using the same set and rabbit ears..and my apartment was in the basement of the house while my old dorm was on the 4th floor and facing the mountains. Go figure !!!!!
 
mleach said:
Cable being available on a college campus? Gee..I wish mine did !! When I attended the University of Denver back in the last 80s/early 90s...not only did DU at the time didn't allow the dorms to get cable, the ONLY channel I could pick up on campus in my dorm with rabbit ears that had a good signal was KCNC. KWGN on some days they came in OK while on other days..well not so good. But the others, well they came in either very poor ( KRMA, KMGH and KUSA ) or not at all ( KDVR and KTVD ).

Interesting about a year later when I moved to my very own apartment which was across the street from my old dorm, I was able to pick up ALL of the Denver stations very clear and we are talking using the same set and rabbit ears..and my apartment was in the basement of the house while my old dorm was on the 4th floor and facing the mountains. Go figure !!!!!
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I graduated from Trenton State College in 1992. The campus did not have cable or even internet. (I don't think Al Gore intented it yet!)
The campus is in Ewing, NJ 1/2 way between Philly & NYC. If your windows looked out 1 side of the bldg, you got Philly TV. If it looked out the other side, you got NYC TV.

The campus is now fully wired for cable and internet now. The school, now known as The College of New Jersey, buys cable from Comcast.
 
Back in the 80s, we had cable at Texas A&M in College Station. My first semester there (I was off-campus), both systems in Bryan-College Station (yes 2 separate systems, each with different lineups...) competed for campus. Once I moved on campus, McCaw Communications bought both systems and merged them into 1. I remember having 12-button, 3-lever switch box for all of the channels (all the way up to 36!!!) initally, followed by a TOCOM addressable converter (they changed the subscription channels from the old "interference pattern" blocking to the out of sync signal to cut down on premium channel theft) - there were way to many engineers in the dorms who could quickly build a bypass filter and, voila, have all 3 premium channels.

They also made MTV an "optional" channel, moving it to 99, and requiring an addressable box to access, due to the complaints of the parents in Bryan/College station; on campus, it was carried as a normal cable channel (i.e., you couldn't block it...).

Jim
 
When I did direct sales for Time Warner Cable, customers HAD to take "basic" cable, aka "the locals" before we could sell them anything else. One could buy just basic...or buy basic and skip over the expanded package and get HBO or Showtime. A filter would be put on your drop to block the expanded channels.
We had filters that would block MTV also, as many parents didn't want their children to see such evil stuff.
Satellite does not have the "you gotta buy basic before we can sell you anything else" rule.
I believe, if you want to pay extra, you can get just HBO and nothing else from the satellite companies, if you are inclined to do so.
In the early 70's, I was in the Army at Ft. Huachuca in southern Arizona and the post had it's own cable system that brought TV from Tucson and Los Angeles. That's where I saw my first Cal Worthington ad!
 
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