The Latest Hotel Cable Report--Motel 6 Joliet, IL (near I-80 Exit 130/IL-7)

[Tim from Springfield IL]

En route to a seminar in Chicago I am taking Tom Bodette's advice and staying at the Motel 6 in Joliet, IL (Exit 130 off Interstate 80, near the IL-7/McDonough Road intersection). (They left the light on for me--even though I arrived mid-afternoon ). Probably the most unique and interesting motel cable lineup I've ever seen--in all its analog glory on a Philips 19-inch (circa late '90s model) screen, with a replacement RCA remote. No mention of LodgeNet anywhere--but I did learn that their system is Dish Network-based.

Anyway, here's a rather interesting motel cable lineup with some surprises:

10-WMAQ (NBC 5) Chicago
13-ESPN
15-WPWR (MY 50) Chicago (still shown as "UPN" in the on-screen channel label)
16-ESPN2
17-CNN
18-HLN
21-TNT
22-TBS
23-Weather Channel (audio only other than briefly before switching to another channel. Also used as the default channel when turning on the TV, with a "channel lineup" of about 10 of the channels listed on the screen).
24-USA
25-Discovery
26-BET (was listed as "TLC" on the on-screen label)
27-Cartoon Network
28-Univision (but listed as "Telemundo" on the on-screen label). Joliet's WGBO-66.
29-WLS (ABC 7) Chicago
30-WGN (CW 9--local Chicago version)
31-WCIU (26) Chicago
36-HBO
37-WBBM (CBS 2) Chicago
44-WFLD (Fox 32) Chicago
45-WTTW (PBS 11) Chicago
46-ESPN News
47-ESPN Classic
48-HBO Signature

And that's all, folks! ;D

But what I don't get--with the cable channel placement as it was, why couldn't the motel just simply placed the OTA networks on their old analog channel numbers (2 for CBS, 5 NBC, 7 ABC, 32 Fox, 66 Univision, etc.)

Interesting lineup.

 

[Sammi Brie]

But what I don't get--with the cable channel placement as it was, why couldn't the motel just simply placed the OTA networks on their old analog channel numbers (2 for CBS, 5 NBC, 7 ABC, 32 Fox, 66 Univision, etc.)

Once went to a hotel that did that for WBBM. In the summer of 2008, it was one hot mess signal. WMAQ and WLS were OK but not that bad.

This is the same Dish-based system that stopped carrying WFLD-Fox, leaving anyone who wanted that weekend's Cubs game out of luck.

 

[searadiofreak]

Yeah, that is strange that the local channels are spread out like that, NBC on 10, ABC on 29, CBS on 37. I've seen lineups where the locals are on high channels, but they usually are all together. Bizzarre lineup, nice catch.

BTW, if you stayed in Joliet, you could have stayed at the famous Sun Inn, formerly the Braidwood Inn, just down the road. (the infamous motel in Planes, Trains and Automobiles). Wonder what their cable lineup is...

 

[nomadcowatbk]

Many on-screen guides still list TBS as WTBS, but they list the HD feed as TBS HD

 

[BRNout]

Next time, stay at the Comfort Inn there in Joliet - they have Comcast's digital basic package, so you get all of the locals. Even MeTV and MeToo.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I'm back in the Chicago area for a work-related seminar tomorrow, and because I'm too cheap ;D and want to pay off my student loans soon (thank you Dave Ramsey!), I chose to stay again at the aforementioned Motel 6 in Joliet. Same lineup as in May, but one question for those in the Chicago area: are there technical problems this afternoon with WLS-7.1 (ABC), because the motel's channel 29 (which has WLS) only has a blank screen. Or do you think it's the motel's problem? Hmmm.

 

[Tim from Springfield IL]

I'm back in the Chicago area for a work-related seminar tomorrow, and because I'm too cheap ;D and want to pay off my student loans soon (thank you Dave Ramsey!), I chose to stay again at the aforementioned Motel 6 in Joliet. Same lineup as in May, but one question for those in the Chicago area: are there technical problems this afternoon with WLS-7.1 (ABC), because the motel's channel 29 (which has WLS) only has a blank screen. Or do you think it's the motel's problem? Hmmm.

And I'm staying in a different room in the motel than in May (when I first posted this thread) and this time Weather Channel is back to normal--but I have a different (and newer) TV than in the other room (25-inch Phillips, unsure of the model).

 

[DToTheJ]

Odd that the additional HBO channel that would be carried is Signature, as opposed to HBO2. They have ESPN2, why not HBO2?

 

[BRNout]

I'm back in the Chicago area for a work-related seminar tomorrow, and because I'm too cheap ;D and want to pay off my student loans soon (thank you Dave Ramsey!), I chose to stay again at the aforementioned Motel 6 in Joliet. Same lineup as in May, but one question for those in the Chicago area: are there technical problems this afternoon with WLS-7.1 (ABC), because the motel's channel 29 (which has WLS) only has a blank screen. Or do you think it's the motel's problem? Hmmm.

Motel issue probably, channel 7 was fine up our way yesterday.

And I told you to stay at the Comfort Inn - you could have caught Sunday Night Noir on MeToo!