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WPTZ-DT and WFFF-DT Mount Mansfield

J

jiminCT

Guest
Does anybody know what is going to happen after WPTZ and WFFF turn off their analog signals in NY state?
Time Warner in Potsdam and Massena would seem to have a bear of time grabbing a signal from their head ends from Mount Mansfield. Would they just pick it up in Malone or Champlain and just fiber it over?

There are some smaller systems in the northern Adirondacks (DWS...serves Cranberry Lake, Star Lake, and Edwards) that are going to have to probably have to switch channels altogether, no?

Hammond's Citizens Cable might provide an insight..they use WHDH and WUHF.
 
jiminCT said:
Does anybody know what is going to happen after WPTZ and WFFF turn off their analog signals in NY state?
Time Warner in Potsdam and Massena would seem to have a bear of time grabbing a signal from Mount Mansfield.
Click to expand...

Potsdam and Massena are both in St. Lawrence County, which is part of the Watertown market. (Source: this market map) Thus, TWC isn't obligated to go to any great lengths to pick up Plattsburgh market signals. Legally, any carriage of WPTZ and WFFF in St. Lawrene County is purely a courtesy of the cable company.

According to Time Warner's website, WFFF isn't even carried in Potsdam or Massena, so I'm eliminating them from the rest of this reply. WPTZ is carried on both, with the exception of WSTM providing the NBC programming "In Gouverneur/Harrisville only" on the Potsdam lineup.

Now, as I mentioned, if WPTZ's digital signal can't be received by TWC in Potsdam or Massena, they don't have to keep carrying it. Even if WPTZ demanded carriage, they're technically an out of market signal, leaving TWC to bring in any NBC affiliate they please. TWC is already bringing in News 10 Now via fiber from Syracuse... they can easily bring WSTM up that same fiber line. If WPTZ wants to be sure they continue to be carried on cable that far to the west, it would be their responsibility to run the fiber connection from their studios to the cable head-end.

If the Potsdam and/or Massena systems run far enough east to include customers in Franklin County (in the Plattsburgh market), I'm really not sure if that changes things. Are the Must-Carry rules based on where the customers live, or where the cable company is located? Even then, the Must Carry Rules are exempt if the cable company can't receive a useable signal from the station -- and it's still the station's responsibility to find a way to get a signal to the head-end.

Those last two sentences should pretty much sum it up for any other cable systems where WPTZ and WFFF can invoke Must-Carry Rules. But even when it's the station's responsibility to make sure the signal gets to the cable companies... the average viewer will wrongly blame the cable company if they suddenly can't tune into WPTZ or WFFF.
 
I would get the feeling that given the current history of things....Massena will continue to continue to carry PTZ, only because the fiber lines from what I understand are running from Syracuse to Champlain...so the scenario where they pick up the signal in Champlain and run it back to Massena and Potsdam (via Malone) would be possible.

PTZ has been carried in Potsdam since the franchise began, I suspect they will do all they can to keep that. Totally forgot that WNYF-FOX is on 7.2 on WWNY's digital signal...so most of the area wont have to "import" anything to replace FOX.
 
Its good to see this corner of the world getting some attention from time to time...

I grew up in Northern Franklin County as a kid and still visit once a year or so, WPTZ DT along with their weather plus subchannel is already on TWC in Malone. I would imagine if Malone can get it, so can areas in the eastern half of St. Lawrence County, the PTZ digital coverage is supposed to not be nearly as good as their analog coverage to that area.

On a side note, for years TWC sent WIXT to the North County as the ABC affliate. We had WVNY as well but I remember it being very snowy until the early 90s, I think they had a low powered translator in Malone for some time but I don't think they do anymore... they must import the signal from the Champlain Head end. My guess is that they will Import all the Burlington DTVs from the Champlain head soon to Franklin county and this would be my guess as to how they will provide WPTZ to the Eastern Half of St. Lawrence county.

My other questions at the time are if they will continue to carry WCFE in St. Lawrence county and WNPI to Franklin County, Despite crossing markets both OTAs serve the out of market area very well. I also wonder if after the transition, if they will keep the canadian stations on TWC (I know Canada isn't supposed to shut down analog for a few years).
 
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