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WETM-18 off Comcast in the Northern Tier?

C

chuckydoll

Guest
From this week's edition of Northeast Radio Watch:

In Towanda, Comcast is pulling Elmira's WETM (Channel 18) off the cable system in early March. Comcast says one NBC affiliate, Wilkes-Barre's WBRE (Channel 28) is enough - but WETM is protesting the move, arguing that it covers events in Towanda and Bradford County more than WBRE ever does.
Click to expand...

Bradford County is in the Northern Tier of Pennsylvania. Towanda is the seat of Bradford County yet is almost an equal distance from Elmira, Binghamton and Scranton. If Comcast pulls WETM then Towanda will have only 1 NBC station ... but 3 ABC stations. Talk about being selfish!

WETM has posted an advisory urging Towanda viewers to take action.
 
Comcast did same thing to another NBC station, wcau in favor of wnbc in new jersey. There getting as bad as time warner with what channels they carry.

I know that wnep has transmitter set up in TOWANDA so that explains tres ABC stations in towanada...
 
Yeah, I read that story with interest in NE Radio Watch. How can Comcast get away with this? Clearly, Towanda is closer to Elmira than it is to S/WB - not to mention that the cultural connections to NY's southern tier would seem to be stronger than those to the Scranton area.

Did someone at Comcast just look at a map of Pennsylvania (not including NY) and say "gee boss, here's a d i s t a n t channel that we can get rid of for more PPV bandwidth in Towanda! It's even from the 'white part' - off the map!!" This decision shows a gross lack of local market knowledge. It's yet another reason why cable competition is sorely needed.

Can't WETM appeal this by claiming "significantly viewed" status? It would seem that they could. And, if so, I hope they cram this right down Comcast's throat. They are far too trigger happy when it comes to blowing out broadcast stations. And adding crap in its place.
 
WETM stays on Comcast Towanda

Thanks to viewers and the Bradford County commissioners.

WETM posted a story last Friday, the day Comcast did its flip-flop.
 
That's good news! I'm a Comcast customer in New Britain, CT, southwest of Hartford. We have WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford. With a good antenna, most in this area can also get WWLP-TV (NBC) channel 22 of Springfield, MA (I don't however). As far as I know, we've never carried them here. All we get from Springfield is WGBY-TV (PBS) channel 57. Now, can somebody tell me why we need a second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup?
 
Kevin Lagasse said:
That's good news! I'm a Comcast customer in New Britain, CT, southwest of Hartford. We have WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford. With a good antenna, most in this area can also get WWLP-TV (NBC) channel 22 of Springfield, MA (I don't however). As far as I know, we've never carried them here. All we get from Springfield is WGBY-TV (PBS) channel 57. Now, can somebody tell me why we need a second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup?
Click to expand...

What you're saying isn't true. Back in the early 1980's, United Cable of New Britain DID carry WWLP-TV as well as WGGB and WGBY. I lived there for a time, and I recall them being on the cable box - I think WWLP was channel 12 or so. That's back when they carried WNEW (5) and WOR (9) from New York. Oddly, the system had 5 and 9 from NY back then, but did not add WPIX-11 until 1983 or so. The system even carried WCBS (2) from NY, late at night.

I did not live in the area when channels 22 and 40 were dropped (though I think 40 was the first to go) - my guess is that it was sometime in the late 1980s.

Anyhow, Comcast (the desendent of United/AT&T, et.al.) still carries WGBY as a remnant of the days when all 3 Springfield channels were carried. Most cable systems carry more than 1 PBS signal when possible, as the syndex and blackout rules don't apply to them. My present system in PA now has 2 PBS stations and my former system in NH had three of them: WGBH, WGBX and WENH.
 
OK, I stand corrected. When I had cable installed fot the first time in April of 1981, my main focus was The Movie Channel and the 'R' rated movies I would check out when mommy was asleep! (LOL)

Channels 22 and 40 were carried now that you mention it. I lived in southern Maine during the mid-1980s so I'm quite fuzzy about New Britain's United Cable lineup at that time. I'm definitely sure that WGBY was the only Springfield channel on the system when we got cable reinstalled on December 1, 1989. WPIX, WWOR and WSBK were all still on the lineup seeing as this was a month before SYNDEX took effect. WPIX was dropped on July 1, 1990 and was replaced with then-WTWS-TV channel 26 from New London.
 
Kevin Lagasse said:
That's good news! I'm a Comcast customer in New Britain, CT, southwest of Hartford. We have WVIT-TV (NBC) channel 30 of New Britain/Hartford. With a good antenna, most in this area can also get WWLP-TV (NBC) channel 22 of Springfield, MA (I don't however). As far as I know, we've never carried them here. All we get from Springfield is WGBY-TV (PBS) channel 57. Now, can somebody tell me why we need a second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup?
Click to expand...
Time Warner Batavia ny carry second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup WNED Ch 17 Buffalo, but we get second NBC affiliate too WGRZ Ch 2 Buffalo, but no second ABC, CBS, CW, MY Network TV, affiliate From Buffalo,
 
dmott3 said:
Time Warner Batavia ny carry second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup WNED Ch 17 Buffalo, but we get second NBC affiliate too WGRZ Ch 2 Buffalo, but no second ABC, CBS, CW, MY Network TV, affiliate From Buffalo,
Click to expand...

Now that surprises me, as Genesee County is in the Buffalo DMA. I always thought that most of Genesee County was tied closer to Buffalo than to Rochester, with the exception of LeRoy and Bergen.
 
This has been taken way off topic

dustintv said:
I know that wnep has transmitter set up in TOWANDA so that explains tres ABC stations in towanada...
Click to expand...

WNEP-16 transmits from Penobscot Mountain near Wilkes-Barre. So does WBRE-28, which Comcast wanted to keep while dropping WETM-18.
 
Re: This has been taken way off topic

chuckydoll said:
dustintv said:
I know that wnep has transmitter set up in TOWANDA so that explains tres ABC stations in towanada...
Click to expand...

WNEP-16 transmits from Penobscot Mountain near Wilkes-Barre. So does WBRE-28, which Comcast wanted to keep while dropping WETM-18.
Click to expand...

Duh I knew that. Re-read what I was tryin' to say...WNEP has translators W10CP and W69CE set up in Towanda so that's why WNEP would be on the system.
 
dhett said:
dmott3 said:
Time Warner Batavia ny carry second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup WNED Ch 17 Buffalo, but we get second NBC affiliate too WGRZ Ch 2 Buffalo, but no second ABC, CBS, CW, MY Network TV, affiliate From Buffalo,
Click to expand...

Now that surprises me, as Genesee County is in the Buffalo DMA. I always thought that most of Genesee County was tied closer to Buffalo than to Rochester, with the exception of LeRoy and Bergen.
Click to expand...

Time Warner Batavia ny Livingston County Area get second PBS affiliate on the cable lineup WNED Ch 17 Buffalo, but we get second NBC affiliate
 
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