cable and satellite have different rules on what stations they can carry. Cable's rules are from the 60s where you could carry anything you pick up OTA. It was amended in the 70s with Significant Viewed stations. In 2005 the FCC put out the "most recent" list of every county in the US and what stations were still considered significant viewed (most form the list form the 70s with some additions). According to that list Morrow County has these stations as Significant Viewed
KEPR-TV, 19, Pasco, WA
KNDU, 25, Richland, WA
KVEW, 42, Kennewick, WA
KATU, 2, Portland, OR
KOIN, 6, Portland, OR
KGW, 8, Portland, OR
Ironically Umatilla County is just the "Big 3" from Tri Cities (remember this list was made in the 70s and updated partially in the 80s). But in cases like this cable has the upperhand as they would offer "in state" stations.
Satellite goes back to 1999 with SHVIA (Satellite Home Viewer Improvement Act) which in simple terms SHVIA allows (not requires) satellite companies to retransmit a local broadcast network signal back into the
same local market area from which it originates ("local-into-local"). So satellite is hindered by the fact they can only offer the local stations for the market as defined by Nielsen. There are some extreme examples of where satellite can and do import neighboring markets
-I live in Mankato, MN (Blue Earth County) which is a 1 station market (KEYC CBS & FOX). North Mankato is in Nicollet County which is considered the Minneapolis market (even though Mpls is 75 miles away). So at one time Direct offered the Mpls stations + KEYC CBS for North Mankato (KEYC's studio is in N Mankato). A few years ago (4 or 5) Nielsen moved North Mankato into the Mankato market. So satellite subs in both towns get only KEYC CBS & FOX, ABC & NBC from Minneapolis (since there is no affiliate of either AS OF TODAY...in September KEYC's owner (Gray) is launching KMNF-LD with NBC & CW. Then satellite will have to drop KARE NBC from Minneapolis.
-There are some examples where a law was enacted to allow neighboring market locals. In 2010 when they renewed SHVIA (now called STELA) Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy got a provision added that ALL Vermont address received Vermont locals, regardless of what Nielsen said. The 2 bottom counties in Vermont are in Albany and Boston DMA. News article on it
https://www.benningtonbanner.com/stories/dish-now-provides-vt-stations,95218
One other example is when a TV station (via their owner) petitions the FCC to allow a station to part of a market. In 2016 (after STELA was renewed and called STELAR) Gray petitioned to have WSAW CBS & FOX added to 2 counties that are part of the Duluth, MN DMA due to those counties being in Wisconsin. Here is the northpine.com article about it
For the first time in the Upper Midwest, and possibly the first time nationally, the FCC has granted a market modification expanding a station's satellite coverage area. Distribution of the CBS and FOX channels from Gray TV's WSAW/7 (Wausau) will be extended north into Ashland and Iron Counties after the FCC granted a market modification under the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization (STELAR) Act of 2014. Gray argued that the counties, which are within the Duluth-Superior market, are "orphan counties" because the majority of the TV signals in the market are from Minnesota. The decision shows that counties can be declared "orphans" even if one of their market's major network affiliates (in this case, KBJR-TV Superior) is licensed in the same state. Two Duluth stations unsuccessfully argued against Gray's proposal, citing their own coverage of news, weather, and sports in the area. Under the FCC decision, DISH Network will be required to offer WSAW throughout Ashland and Iron Counties; DirecTV will be required to offer the station in all of Iron County but only in the southern part of Ashland County after showing that its Wausau spotbeam could not adequately reach northern Ashland County. (1/27/2017)
Other than the examples I gave above, unless you are a short market (no affiliate of a network in which they will import) you get only your DMA's locals. And if there is a dispute no they can not import a different affiliate. The exception is if the network that is pulled is imported. So the time Tegna pulled KARE 11 from Dish, Dish could legally substitute a different NBC for Mankato since there is no local NBC.
So as example Mankato/North Mankato is as such
Directv is KEYC CBS & FOX, Minneapolis KARE NBC and KSTP ABC, WUCW CW from Mpls and National PBS
Dish is the same except they dont import a CW
Charter is the Minneapolis locals except CW which is KTTC-DT2 CW+ from Rochester, MN. They also get KEYC CBS & FOX and KAAL ABC & KSMQ PBS from Austin, MN (Rochester, MN market)
Consolidated is same except CW is the cable only CW and no Rochester market stations.
There are lots of examples where the stations you get on satellite is weird/questionable (basically orphan counties). SW of Mankato is a couple counties that get the Minneapolis locals (goes back to when Mankato had just CBS) so counties 40 miles SW of Mankato (and over 130 miles from Minneapolis) get Minneapolis stations only while cable adds KEYC CBS & FOX which in some cases is 10 miles from the KEYC tower.
