Most network affiliates on a single cable system

[charlestondxman]

I was just thinking of something that could be important when the DTV transition ends on Feburary 17.

Today in South Carolina, CBS had a double-header of games at 1 and 4:15. WCSC (CBS) in Charleston aired the Broncos-Falcons, and then the Titans-Jaguars (local game, Jaguars less than 5 hours away). Strangely, the CBS in Columbia, WLTX, had the Falcons, but after, at 4:15, they aired the Chargers-Steelers game, a completely different game for their audience.

If you get multiple network affiliates, you could get extra NFL games that are not available in the main city of the market.

Around Charleston, there are many cases of network duplication on local cable systems. In Bluffton (the fast-growing town next to Hilton Head Island), both WCIV and WCSC (ABC and CBS) are available, but strangely, WCBD is not. This helped when WJCL (the Savannah ABC) got knocked off the air for several days a year or two ago during the NBA finals, and Hargray viewers could hang back and watch WCIV, instead of missing out.

In Georgetown and Williamsburg counties (part of Charleston's market) the Myrtle Beach channels are available, and in most of Orangeburg County, you can get all of Columbia and Charleston's stations (and until the late 80s, Augusta's) on cable.

Off topic of this discussion, but Radio-Info is almost to its 100,000 topic since it relaunched in June of 2005.

What examples are there of more than one network affiliate on cable in your market?

 

[mjlarochelle]

In London, Ontario, we get both WJET Erie and WXYZ Detroit for ABC, and WICU Erie and WDIV Detroit for NBC. We get one each of FOX and CBS, both from Detroit, and PBS is from Erie. Having two NBC and ABC affiliates each is very useful when one of each is from Detroit, as WDIV and WXYZ are notorius for pre-emptions for Detroit Auto Show coverage, Matlock reruns, severe weather preparedness specials, and most pathetically, a full half hour preview of the new fall schedule on WDIV in 2007. When the Detroit affiliates are not pre-empting they are preferable to the Erie ones as the picture quality is much better, as they are beamed in by satellite, while the Erie stations are picked up over-the-air and transmitted by microwave to London.

Prior to 1994, we also got two CBS affiliates, again Detroit and Erie (WJBK and WSEE, respectively). WJBK switched to FOX and after a year of receiving that as our only FOX station, we were switched to WUTV Buffalo for a few years before going back to WJBK in 2003.

But since we're talking about most affiliates...some places in Southwestern Ontario got as many as three sets of U.S. network affiliates at one time. I believe Leamington used to get all the Big 3 affiliates from Cleveland, Toledo, and Detroit back in the 70s and 80s, plus at least WUAB. Also prior to 1974 London got three NBC affiliates, including the two above plus WKYC from Cleveland.

Some Canadian markets have long received two CTV affiliates on cable, and in Belleville, Ontario there are three CBC affiliates.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

An hour west of Springfield, IL, the Cass Communications, Inc. cable lineup for the cities of Rushville, Mt. Sterling and Versailles (which is part of the Quincy/Hannibal market) includes 3 NBC affiliates: the home market's WGEM-10 (Quincy), WEEK-25 (Peoria), AND WAND-17 (Decatur--about 100 miles away from Rushville), the latter station added to the Rushville lineup around late 2002 when WAND was still an ABC affiliate [which Quincy lacks other than those areas receiving KTVO from Kirksville, and KHQA-7's (CBS) digital ABC subchannel]. (WHOI-19, the ABC affiliate for Peoria, has always been on Rushville's cable lineup). Interestingly, WICS-20 (Springfield), which swapped affiliations with WAND on Labor Day 2005 and became that market's ABC affiliate, is only offered on digital cable (HD lineup) in Rushville (and IIRC has never been offered on analog to my knowledge even back when channel 20 was an NBC affiliate, despite Springfield Fox affiliate WRSP-55 always having been carried on Rushville's cable).

http://www.casscomm.com/cable/rushville.html

The Cass Communications lineup for Cass County and surrounding outlying areas (including the Sangamon County, IL town of Pleasant Plains 17 miles west of Springfield) offers 3 CBS affiliates: WCIA-3 (Champaign), KHQA-7 (Hannibal/Quincy), and WMBD-31 (Peoria). (BTW, Cass County has traditionally been part of the Quincy market, but some maps I have seen do have that county listed as part of Springfield/Decatur/Champaign, particularly with Springfield stations heavily watched in that county).

http://www.casscomm.com/cable/virginia.html

The most network affiliates (not counting PBS) I have known to have ever existed on a single cable system has been at least 3 each of ABC, NBC, and CBS around the 1970s on the Macomb, IL cable system (the county seat of McDonough County and home of Western Illinois University), with an explanation as follows:

--From the time of introduction of cable around 1965 in Macomb to the early '90s, their cable traditionally had all of the Peoria "Big 3" affiliates, those from the Quad Cities (WHBF-4 Rock Island, CBS; WOC/KWQC-6 Davenport, NBC; WQAD-8 Moline, ABC), and the Quincy stations (KHQA and WGEM--Macomb is part of the Quincy market).

--When cable first came to Macomb until at least sometime in the '70s, KTVO-3 Kirksville, MO (which was originally CBS primary until becoming ABC by 1970) was originally offered (I don't know if KTVO was reinstated on Macomb's cable during the brief period in 1987-88 when KTVO would have broadcast on their ill-fated 2000-ft. tower and targeted the Quincy market--which would have likely given channel 3 a fair signal at best in the Macomb area).

--I'm not sure if the equally ill-fated WJJY-14 (ABC from Jacksonville, IL from 1969-71 before going dark) ever made it onto Macomb's cable during its short life (for perhaps a 4th ABC at one time).

--I recall also seeing an item hinting that the forementioned WICS-20 in Springfield (back during its NBC days) might have been offered in Macomb at some time (perhaps sometime in the 70s and 80s), possibly resulting in a fourth NBC affiliate offered on that system if that is true).

Now, Macomb's cable (run by Comcast) only offers Quincy network affiliates (CBS, NBC, religious WTJR-16), ABC and Fox from the Quad Cities (WQAD-8 and KLJB-18 Davenport, respectively), and PBS from Iowa Public Television and WMEC-22 (the Macomb translator for the "Network Knowledge" system of three west central Illinois PBS stations based out of Chatham, IL, outside Springfield). Not a single Peoria affiliate has been carried on the system in the last 15 years (not even WAOE-59, the nearest My affiliate to Macomb, which has been relayed to cable systems in parts of western Illinois--leaving Macomb without a My Network TV station on cable).

 

[MarcB]

COMCAST in Vermont:

3 ABC - WCVB/Boston, WMUR/Manchester, and WCDC/Adams (relays WTEN/Albany)
2 NBC - WHDH/Boston and WNNE/White River Junction (relays WPTZ/Burlington)
2 CBS - WBZ/Boston and WCAX/Burlington
3 PBS - WGBY/Springfield, VT Public Television, and NH Public Televison

They only have 1 FOX - WFXT/Boston, 1 Telemundo WNEU/Manchester, 1 CW WLVI/Boston, and 1 MNT WZMY/Derry. No Univision. There's also WSBK/Boston - Independent and WYDN/Worcester - Daystar.

 

[KML0224]

Assuming you mean Brattleboro in Windham County (southeastern VT), that's one hell of a lineup for a town of maybe 9,000!

 

[bpatrick]

WCSC probably had the Jaguars game BECAUSE Jacksonville
is less than five hours away, and CBS probably took that
into consideration when it divided up the country for the
second game (while Charleston doesn't get Jaguars pre-season
games, Savannah does); I suspect Greenville/Spartanburg and
Florence also got Pittsburgh-San Diego.

 

[MarcB]

Assuming you mean Brattleboro in Windham County (southeastern VT), that's one hell of a lineup for a town of maybe 9,000!

Sure am, Kevin. I wonder if WCDC/19 from Adams is considered "Must Carry" because I can't see people in Brattlboro caring about what's going on in Albany since WCDC is a 100% simulcast of WTEN/Albany. For those not in the area Adams, MA is a few exits down 91 from Brattleboro.

 

[BRNout]

COMCAST in Vermont:

3 ABC - WCVB/Boston, WMUR/Manchester, and WCDC/Adams (relays WTEN/Albany)
2 NBC - WHDH/Boston and WNNE/White River Junction (relays WPTZ/Burlington)
2 CBS - WBZ/Boston and WCAX/Burlington
3 PBS - WGBY/Springfield, VT Public Television, and NH Public Televison

They only have 1 FOX - WFXT/Boston, 1 Telemundo WNEU/Manchester, 1 CW WLVI/Boston, and 1 MNT WZMY/Derry. No Univision. There's also WSBK/Boston - Independent and WYDN/Worcester - Daystar.

That system also includes some towns in the southwestern corner of New Hampshire (including Hinsdale), making it quite remarkable that folks as far east as the Granite State are offered Albany market TV. I believe that there are some cable systems in the Lakes Region of NH (Laconia, Wolfeboro, etc.) that carry all of the Boston and Portland affiliates - plus WMUR Manchester (ABC) and WUNH Durham (PBS). That would mean that they too have 3 ABCs and 3 PBS affiliates.

Willimantic, CT's cable system once carried network affiliates from Hartford/New Haven, Springfield, Boston and Providence - meaning that there were FOUR NBC and ABC affiliates offered and three CBS affiliates. That was back in the mid 1980s. They've cut back significantly since that time and only offer 2 of each now (mainly Hartford/NH and Boston).

New England is an easy one for multiples thanks to the close spacing between markets......

 

[Nate Wesley]

Monroeville, AL and the surrounding area is serviced by Mediacom. We get the Big Four affiliates from both the Mobile & Montgomery TV markets.

CBS, NBC, ABC, & Fox
Mobile: WKRG 5, WPMI 15, WEAR 3 (licensed to Pensacola, FL), and WALA 10
Montgomery: WAKA 8 (licensed to Selma), WSFA 12, WNCF 32, and WCOV 20

Much like the OP described, viewers in between two markets can often catch more than two NFL games at a time.

Just this past Sunday on the CBS's: WAKA 8 chose to show Denver at Atlanta (Montgomery being a secondary market for the Falcons). WKRG 5 showed Oakland at Miami (Raiders & former LSU QB Jamarcus Russell is a Mobile native.) For the late game, both 5 & 8 had Tennessee at Jacksonville. Given CBS's AFC package, 8 usually clears Titans games.

For the Fox's, WALA 10 chose New Orleans at Kansas City (Mobile is a secondary market for the Saints). WCOV 20 chose Minnesota at Tampa Bay. With Fox's NFC package, WCOV usually takes the Atlanta game.

So at 12 noon to around 3ish in the afternoon, I had three games to flip back and forth from: Denver at Atlanta, Oakland at Miami, and New Orleans at Kansas City, all on basic analog cable. It doesn't always work that way, but it's sure nice when it does.

 

[Poledo]

I've seen plenty of cable systems over the years with 3 affiliates of the Big 4 and PBS. The distant stations tend to be a throwback to the days when people didn't watch any UHF channels and would watch a VHF network affiliate 100 miles away before they would tune in a UHF 20 miles away. Your going to have to name a system with 4 affiliates of the same network to impress anyone.
Also, I've never seen more than 1 CW, UPN, WB, or MyNet affiliate on a cable system, but I have seen 2 UPNs on a hotel system before.

The old Storer Cable system in Bainbridge, GA carried 2 CBS, 2 PBS, 3 NBC, and 4 ABC affilates: WTXL, WMBB, WDHN, and WTVM. Now that the system is owned by Mediacom they have dropped WDHN and WTVM but added WSB, so they still carry 3 ABCs.

Can anyone name a cable system that carries two stations that simulcast each other?

 

[gr8oldies]

Last I knew the Celina OH system carried the big 3 from Dayton Ft Wayne Toledo and Columbus, Fox from Dayton and Ft Wayne, another NBC from Lima and possibly a third Fox

 

[mjlarochelle]

If you subscribe to digital basic cable in London, Ontario you get two MNT affiliates - WUAB Cleveland and WNYO Buffalo. You only get WUAB with analog basic though.

 

[fybush]

Last I knew the Celina OH system carried the big 3 from Dayton Ft Wayne Toledo and Columbus, Fox from Dayton and Ft Wayne, another NBC from Lima and possibly a third Fox

No more - the Time Warner system there now has the big 4 from Fort Wayne, NBC from Lima, PBS from Bowling Green and the full Dayton lineup (including WBDT for CW and WRGT-45.2 for My). No Toledo or Columbus anymore.

 

[Tim L]

In the early 1970's Warner Cable of Canton, Ohio (Long before Time-Warner) Carried

3 Network Affiliates from Cleveland-3/5/8
3 from Youngstown-21/27/33
NBC and CBS from Wheeling/Steubenville (both secondary ABC)-7/9
ABC from Akron-49

Total:
3 NBC
3 ABC-2 secondary ABC besides
3 CBS

 

[ssetta]

Believe it or not, I think Comcast in Bristol County, MA carries two CW affiliates: WLVI-56 Boston and WLWC-28 Providence. I don't think they have a MyNetworkTV affiliate at all, since it's in the Providence/New Bedford DMA, but they carry 2 of all the other major networks (both Boston and Providence), as well as 3 PBS stations (2 from Boston and 1 from Providence).

 

[ansky212]

Cable systems in central NJ carry most of the NYC and Philly channels. Not bad having market #1 and #5 on the same cable system.

 

[rch66]

Cable systems in central NJ carry most of the NYC and Philly channels. Not bad having market #1 and #5 on the same cable system.

Mercer County gets all NY and all Philly, but only Philly HD since its Philly DMA. Comcast in Ocean County has moved KYW 3 and WCAU 10 to digital only and carries all NY and NY HD.

In Carbon County, PA which is the Poconos area they get Scranton, and a mix of New York and Philadelphia, with all 3 Fox affiliates.

In Allentown, Service Electric carries ABC from Philly & Scranton, NBC from Philly and NY, and Fox from Philly and NY, WPIX, WWOR, only 1 CBS (KYW) though, the other Philly stations as its within DMA, but they do carry HD feeds of the out of market New York stations as well.

As far as getting 3 of one network (excluding PBS), its harder to find though.
Along w/ Carbon County getting 3 Fox stations,
Comcast in Frederick, MD carries 3 NBC stations: WRC 4, WBAL 11 and WHAG 25. I think OTA is possible to get WGAL 8 also. They might as well throw it in the lineup as well.

 

[rch66]

Correction to the above post:

Comcast Princeton carries WCBS-DT, WNBC-DT, WNYW-DT and WABC-DT and not KYW-DT, WPVI-DT, WCAU-DT, WTXF-DT, even though they are in Philly DMA and must-carry all the crappy UHF stations from within the Philadelphia market. Probably has to do with Comcast Princeton being formerly a Patriot Media which serviced more of Somerset County.

Comcast Trenton carries both New York and Philly HD, except WABCDT and WWORDT, and has surprisingly moved some New York stations off the analog (with exception of WABC), and WWOR isn't even listed on the lineup at all. Very unusual but I suppose WPHL didn't want WWOR for MyNetwork TV exclusivity purposes but its unusual to drop a New York VHF in Central NJ, considering that WWOR (and WPIX) news at 10 is still unique in that regards over sorta newsless-WPSG and outsourced news from Ch10 for WPHL. Also, WWOR is supposed to be NJ based, and a lot of Trenton folk commute to New York/Northern NJ via NJ Transit NEC line.

 

[rwells2265]

Troy, Ala. for many years had network stations from three markets on its cable -- Montgomery (local DMA), Dothan and Columbus (Ga.). In the '70s and well into the '80s, Troy's cable had three each of CBS and ABC, and two NBCs (Dothan, then and now, doesn't have an NBC).

I believe Walterboro, S.C. in the present day still has three of each, from Charleston, Columbia and Savannah.

I can see from a sports standpoint how multiple nets are a good thing, and I always liked having the 'extra' stations back when I lived in Troy due to occasional preemptions (i.e., WSFA-12 in Montgomery - NBC - has always aired the Billy Graham specials, so having WLTZ-38 in Columbus was handy), or when a station went off the air ... which happened to Montgomery's ABC affil during the Beatles "Anthology" TV special. I was recording it, so I had to quickly (!) stop the recording, then switch to the Columbus, Ga. ABC station (WTVM-9) and resume taping.

--Russell

 

[Poledo]

Troy would be a good candidate. I've never seen any cable in the area, but my grandparents lived about 20 miles south out in BFE. While at the house we would watch NBC from Montgomery, CBS from Dothan (CBS from Selma was off the air for years due to fire), and ABC from Columbus (it didn't matter that ABC WDHN 18 was about 20 miles away, it was on UHF). Fox was on UHF, so it was never watched... except by me late at night. We also happened to be in one of the few areas in Alabama that couldn't get a good signal from APT, so no PBS.

How common is it for a cable system to carry no out of market stations? In Pensacola, FL we get all the locals (one each of every english network except ION, which never set up shop here) but we don't get APT on Florida cable systems (it is on Dish and OTA) and the Florida PBS station is carried on Alabama cable systems.
It sure would be nice to get APT to get a choice of PBS stations. Wonder why they don't ask for must carry in Florida?