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Suns, Mercury to KTVK/KPHE
- Thread starter KeithE4
- Start date
I thought they were starting to eat into FOX 10's news ratings.
Gray is also like Meredith: for some odd reason, they're bullish on the 24/7 weather subchannel, and don't have any plans of simulcasting the sports channel full time on a full power sub; just airing the KPHE-only Suns games on the weather sub. Also, they can upgrade KPHE, they just don't want to (although they're building repeaters in Flagstaff and Yuma). It's sad because I like their news product.
KAZF began on Tuesday and KAZS the week before that. (Gray also put one of its other FCC auction stations on the air in the last week in Freeport, Illinois/Rockford, so they're on a roll!)
www.azfamily.com
Arizona’s Family Sports network is now available statewide
The Arizona’s Family Sports network is now a statewide network.
Counterpoint: the weather sub makes some sense to air because if you need something in HD, the weather sub likely has a low bitrate outside of sports and then it can take up more bits when needed. Also statmuxing is less efficient when multiple subs carry the same program (e.g. the news simulcasts).
It still doesn't help that they seem like they don't want to improve the OTA signal of KPHE-LD (and, for all reasons, they have the ability to do so), from all the non-responses on social media about the situation. They just say "watch 3.5." 44 carries more local sports than just Suns and Mercury games.
Gray spent nearly $2M on KPHE-LD, and the LPTVs held up with duct tape and chewing gum (31.x and 50.x) come in loud and clear with my outdoor antenna, while nothing with 44.
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Looks like whenever the Suns have a primetime game on 3TV, they will be moving Wheel Of Fortune and Jeopardy in place of the Newscast at 5 PM, 6 PM or 8 PM before or after the game depending on what time the game is. Programming changes during Phoenix Suns games on 3TV; Wheel of Fortune, Jeopardy may change times
Also, apparently they have updated the channel listening page for Arizona's Family Sports to show that it is coming soon to Fubo and YouTube TV in Phoenix/Flagstaff, Fubo in Tucson, and Spectrum and Fubo in Yuma. FAQ: How you can watch the Phoenix Suns on Arizona’s Family
Also, apparently they have updated the channel listening page for Arizona's Family Sports to show that it is coming soon to Fubo and YouTube TV in Phoenix/Flagstaff, Fubo in Tucson, and Spectrum and Fubo in Yuma. FAQ: How you can watch the Phoenix Suns on Arizona’s Family
Well that's reasonable. Glad they're not bumping Wheel and Jeopardy to 2AM! 😎
Usually, it takes some time to get local stations launched on YouTube TV. I'd imagine DirecTV will have it in Phoenix on Channel 32 on their local package before YTTV gets it. But, that's good news for those who are looking for the AZFS-only games, and not just the ones broadcast by KTVK.
I did speak to Arizona's Family "Reception Guru" today, and told him about my problems receiving KPHE-LD. Basically, he told me they're running the same equipment (transmitter, encoders, etc) that was purchased from Lotus - and most likely hasn't been upgraded in the past 15 years, and that a new transmitter is (hopefully) in the works that may improve signal quality, which may help tuners lock in the station easier. I'm hoping they will keep their word.
So, the newscasts are simply canceled when a game is on 3? They are not going to run them on a subchannel or anything?
Except for the 8 PM and 9 PM newscast, they are all on CBS5.
But that is exactly why I asked my question. I often tune in at 8pm or 9pm to catch the headlines and the weather forecast. At 8pm, there are no other local opportunities.
Does it matter? Not only does Channel 12 have their own weather subchannel, but there are weather apps available on everyone's phone. How many do we need? Simulcasting 44 on 3.5 is the smartest thing that Gray could do. LPTV doesn't work in this context.
The Suns are important enough for Gray to sacrifice those newscasts. Channels 10 and 61 have news at 9.
I have no idea how well Channel 3's 8PM newscast does, compared to the competition or whatever non-sports programming they could run, but I doubt they could do better than a Suns game.
There was one mention in this thread of statistical multiplexing not working at its best when the two both simulcast the same news and sports. But, all in all, it would make sense to run 3.5 as a simulcast. 44.1 will have the better PQ, obviously, but is much more difficult to receive because of its LPTV status, especially with indoor antennas. Hopefully they do invest in new equipment for 44 (not just transmitter and encoder, but a new transmit antenna as well), because that will be a little bit of an improvement.
KPNX doesn't anymore. They've replaced it with Shop LC a year or two back.
That shows how much I pay any attention to Channel 12, other than sports. I could have sworn I tuned across their weather channel earlier this year. Either way, those 24/7 weather channels are long-obsolete.
Gray doesn't see it that way, and neither are some Scripps stations.
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