• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

TBS/WTBS Ceasing Transmission

N

notalkallstatic

Does anyone know if this is true:

I was reading on Wikipedia, that when WTBS use to simulcast the TBS feed locally, and a failure of the WTBS transmitter happened (meaning the transmitter goes off the air,) that the national version was required to cease it’s transmission until the problem was fixed.

This is the quote from Wikipedia:
FCC regulations often caused unusual requirements for a nationally distributed local television station. If a technical failure of the Atlanta local transmitter forced the station to go off the air locally, the national version was required to cease transmission to the satellite also, until the local problem was resolved. [citation needed]
Click to expand...

I’ve never heard of this happening, and it sounds kind of stupid. Plus it’s coming from Wikipedia, so you need to take it with a grain of salt.

Can anyone confirm if this was true or not? And, if it was true...WHY???
 
Notice that [citation notice] that appears after that paragraph in the Wikipedia article. That means don't believe it, unless you can confirm it from a website that cannot be edited or posted to by the general public.

There might have been some rules regarding this...but since WTBS was never a superstation in the eyes of the FCC (WGN, WWOR, WSBK, KTLA, KWGN are/were), this rule might not have applied to them.

Regardless, TBS and now WPCH-TV are airing seperate programming (except for "Friends", which for some reason has to be simulcast). If the any such rules were in effect currently, that would not be possible.
 
Actually, WTBS was a superstation in the eyes of the FCC. That designation was dropped several years ago because TBS wanted to become a normal cable channel. As a normal cable channel, TBS would be able to give the local cable companies some advertising time each half hour and that means TBS got more in subscriber fees from the cable companies. When that happened, WTBS lost it's superstation status. Turner Broadcasting had already negotiated seperate deals with programming suppliers. One for WTBS and one for TBS which is why most programming was still duplicated.
 
BarryATL said:
As a normal cable channel, TBS would be able to give the local cable companies some advertising time each half hour and that means TBS got more in subscriber fees from the cable companies. When that happened, WTBS lost it's superstation status.
Click to expand...

Try telling that to the Canadians -- WPCH is available on cable and satellite throughout Canada, in lieu of TBS.
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom