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UPSTATE REGIONAL SUPERSTATIONS...

J

jiminCT

Guest
Since the demise of Eastern Microwave...was wondering if there is anything remotely close to an "imported" regional superstation (using that term lightly of course). Here are some that serve well outside of their market and are imported via fiber:

WSTM...Watertown, Gouverneur, Ogdensburg
WPTZ...Gouverneur, Ogdensburg

This would be an interesting thread...does anyone know of other stations that have to be brought in via non-antenna methods?
 
Until just a year or so ago, WIXT/WSYR-TV from Syracuse was brought up to the North Country by microwave/fiber, a situation that predated the sign-on of WFYF/WWTI in Watertown.
 
It wasn't that long ago that WKBW was on Corning cable. How did they get that signal?
 
Depending on how "lightly" you want to use the term, the CNY and Southern Tier versions of News 10 Now YNN are imported via fiber to, well, basically everywhere they serve including the "home base" of Syracuse, considering the anchors are located in Albany.

Regarding the actual broadcast stations, the only one that comes to mind -- and I know it's a stretch -- is CKWS from Kingston. I'm not sure how they get that signal into the Rome/Oneida TW cable system (and I think it's on in Utica too, but I'm not sure). CKWS has been on their lineup dating back to at least the late 80s and (from what I once read in the paper) even earlier -- before fiber made it easy.

When I first moved to the area in the late 80s, we had WPIX, WWOR, WBZ and TBS (even though some channel lists still had it as "WTBS").

Actually, now that I think of it, we still have WGN on cable, but it's the "WGN America" feed, rather than the real WGN. Still, WGN America does carry the "News at Nine" (10 here), so I'm a happy camper. As far as I'm concerned, you can show grass growing the rest of the day -- getting to watch an out-of-town newscast is the one and only reason to carry a superstation. I still miss having WPIX and WWOR on cable here for that reason. Used to love watching the WPIX News at Ten... such catchy music, and decent graphics for the early 90s. Thank God for YouTube.
 
I did a little science experiment and went up to the hill above Utica to see what I could pick up..and CFLY-FM out of Kingston came in fine...so I suspect CKWS is making its way down across the lake. When the digital conversion is complete...they might have to get another CBC for the Utica system..if any at all.
 
CKWS has been on the Utica cable system (Harron Cable) since the early 70's, if not before. Even back in the twelve channel days.
I can't believe that no one has mentioned WUTR back in the 70's with their series of translators. From Oneonta to Odgensburg. A big one on channel 50 in Watertown. Once in a while you'll see on the classic TV thread here of TV listings in Eastern Canada. WUTR shows up in the 70's and early 80's. They got paid for it by ABC, too.
 
Yeah..I remember Castle Cable in Alexandria Bay used to carry WUTR on their initial cable lineup (like 12 channels). They were picking up the signal via the Alex Bay headend (headend still exists..in front of the Riveredge Resort) from the Copenhagen translator.

WUTR wasnt fibered or microwaved tho...up in the North Country at that time, the only channels that were carried up there that way were WSTM, WIXT, WOR, WNEW, and WPIX.
 
Rob-WKBW in Corning was sent over from Buffalo via microwave.
 
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