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Suns, Mercury to KTVK/KPHE

YTTV pulled both 3 and 61. KTVK is gone completely, while KASW was replaced with the national CW feed. I doubt it's because they hate local sports, since the GCU basketball games that air on KUTP/45 are not blacked out. Gray and Scripps probably wanted more money, and YouTube said No.
The way Scripps handled the Coyotes/CW situation has been very messy at best. The CW probably doesn't like being stuck on a subchannel with 30+-year-old programming as the lead-in, as much as viewers don't like how KASW was forced to Channel 95 on cable.
 
This is a central issue as vMVPDs gain traction.

Should they be subject to the retrans consent/must-carry regime like traditional providers, which might also raise their rates?

Or should they be allowed to do what they do now, which is negotiate with the networks directly for all of their affiliates and then with station group owners for additional independents etc.?
In my home market they dont have KUSI or KFMB.2 on DirecTV Stream but that explains the Tegna dispute with DirecTV despite that the vMVPDs only negotiate with the parent companies of the broadcast networks on behalf of their affilates. So basically the FCC doesn't have the level playing field between the broadcast and online/cable content in regulations.
 
It appears that KPHE's main programming is now being simulcasted on a KPHO hosted channel, 44.2, instead of running the sports on weather sub 3.5. I can't receive the KPHE-LD RF, so I can't tell if they moved those subchannels down a number. The EPG still shows it as Rewind TV.
 
Yes, all of KPHE's Subchannels moved up one channel and they replaced the infomercials on 44.5 with The 365 network.

Also, I'm guessing the addition of 44.2 from KPHO is because Suns have several games a month exclusively on Arizona Family Sports starting this month. I did notice that 44.2 is an SD Subchannel, but I wonder if they plan on upgrading it to HD like they did with 3.5 at the beginning of the season. Also, I see they downgraded 3.5 back to SD now.
 
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Yes, all of KPHE's Subchannels moved up one channel and they replaced the infomercials on 44.5 with The 365 network.

Also, I'm guessing the addition of 44.2 from KPHO is because Suns have several games a month exclusively on Arizona Family Sports starting this month. I did notice that 44.2 is an SD Subchannel, but I wonder if they plan on upgrading it to HD like they did with 3.5 at the beginning of the season. Also, I see they downgraded 3.5 back to SD now.

Just checked out the new 44.2 (Monday @ 2.30pm). It is now at 720p, and showing up as "KPHE-HD".
 
Just checked out the new 44.2 (Monday @ 2.30pm). It is now at 720p, and showing up as "KPHE-HD".
My TV still shows 44.2 as SD although the display name shows up KPHE-HD and also it doesn't look 720p HD compared to 44.1.They are still simulcasting the Suns Gametime Pre-game Show on 3.5 right now and it looks higher quality than 44.2 at the moment. The first Arizona's Family Sports exclusive game is on Friday, so they have a few days to get it upgraded.
 
My TV still shows 44.2 as SD although the display name shows up KPHE-HD and also it doesn't look 720p HD compared to 44.1.They are still simulcasting the Suns Gametime Pre-game Show on 3.5 right now and it looks higher quality than 44.2 at the moment. The first Arizona's Family Sports exclusive game is on Friday, so they have a few days to get it upgraded.
Will they drop a KPHO subchannel to give some bandwidth to 44.2? 5.3, which shows Outlaw's programming on the EPG, still is airing the refreshed Dabl network.

I still have to give it to Gray for having a plan instead of Scripps, which made a wholesale change right away, leaving viewers confused.
 
So just decided to look at the schedule on the Suns website and noticed they added more games to KTVK 3TV that were originally scheduled to only be exclusively on KPHE Arizona's Family Sports. So now the first Arizona's Family Sports exclusive game is scheduled for Marth 7.

I'm guessing the main reason Gray TV is putting more Suns games than originally scheduled on KTVK 3TV is because KPHE Arizona's Family Sports is not on DirecTV yet.
 
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Yes, all of KPHE's Subchannels moved up one channel and they replaced the infomercials on 44.5 with The 365 network.

Also, I'm guessing the addition of 44.2 from KPHO is because Suns have several games a month exclusively on Arizona Family Sports starting this month. I did notice that 44.2 is an SD Subchannel, but I wonder if they plan on upgrading it to HD like they did with 3.5 at the beginning of the season. Also, I see they downgraded 3.5 back to SD now.
44.2 is in 720p now. But I wonder why Gray just didn't move 44.1 to KPHO's transmitter and be done with it? Then putting 44.2 and the other subs on RF 16 to keep its license a Class A? Or is that not necessary?
 
44.2 is in 720p now. But I wonder why Gray just didn't move 44.1 to KPHO's transmitter and be done with it? Then putting 44.2 and the other subs on RF 16 to keep its license a Class A? Or is that not necessary?
KPHE is not a Class A station, it's just a normal low-power translator station.
 
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