Senate Bill 4067 (NF)

[VanKampen]

apparently the government is taking away the local channels from dish network subscribers. :confused: I don't want this to get political. I'm just wondering if anyone knows what the reason is for this.

[SnyTigBaseB07]

because maybe it costs them money to broadcast a local channel through them, so why not cut them out and then just have the people have another way to get their local channels

only a guess

i dont know.

[SintonFan]

Do you have a link to this? WTC?:mad:

[luvhoops34]

:weeping: how am I supposed to get local channels then??? :weeping:

[GreenMonster]

this is total crap. This legislature is so biased towards DirecTV and the cable companies it's unreal. Thank the Lord we voted most of them out.

J/K I'll get over it if it does actually occur. Doesn't make me entirely happy though.

[Blastoderm55]

Originally posted by luvhoops34
:weeping: how am I supposed to get local channels then??? :weeping:

Switch back to cable. :(

[DaHop72]

Originally posted by Blastoderm55
Switch back to cable. :( Some of us don't have access to it and even with a tower can't get the local channels.:( :(

[Chopblock]

where i live, directv does not offer local channels, i have both directv and cable

[big daddy russ]

Originally posted by luvhoops34
:weeping: how am I supposed to get local channels then??? :weeping:
Rabbit ears. :)

Seriously, blame the senators and lobbyists on this one. Cable TV companies have taken some huge hits due to sattv increases, so they brought (or bought, whichever works) out the big guns. Happens all the time, and until Congress is willing to pass legit lobbying reform, this will keep happening. Sure, Congress has passed some legislation to appease the media and constituents, but it's been weak and largely ineffective.

This is a small part of a larger problem. The rich control the lawmaking in this country, and the rich want to get richer. That's why there hasn't been extensive lobbying reform and the main reason we don't have a flat tax (it's been an idea long before outsourcing was popular with all the major corporations).

[bccards]

They aren't taking away the LOCAL Channels from Dish Subscribers, rather, taking away DISTANT NETWORKS (ABC/NBC/CBS/FOX) that everyone receives from New York and Los Angeles. If you end up losing your Distant Networks, Dish Network has came to a last minute deal to solve this problem, if they can legally serve your address..
http://www.satelliteguys.us/showthread.php?t=83278

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http://sanantonio.bizjournals.com/denver/stories/2006/11/20/daily23.html

An extension that would allow DISH Network subscribers to receive distant network channels beyond Dec. 1 was denied by U.S. District Judge William Dimitrouleas on Tuesday.

In late October, Dimitrouleas, a judge in Fort Lauderdale, issued an injunction that barred Englewood-based EchoStar Communications Corp. (NASDAQ: DISH) from selling satellite feeds outside of markets where subscribers live.


An estimated 800,000 subscribers of EchoStar's DISH Network are affected by the ruling -- costing EchoStar as much as $50 million in revenue a year.

At issue is EchoStar carrying ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX channels that originate outside communities where subscribers live. The litigation doesn't involve subscribers receiving channels in their own towns via satellite.

The lawsuit was filed in Miami in 1998. EchoStar argued that carrying distant network programming didn't violate the networks' copyrights.

Dimitrouleas said in his ruling that EchoStar "disregarded the limitations of its statutory license and sought to avoid its obligations under the [law] at every turn."

On Tuesday, the judge upheld his order to stop the distant feeds on Dec. 1.

"The time to prepare for such an outcome was months ago ... not weeks before the injunction would take effect," Dimitrouleas said.

On Nov. 16, some prominent U.S. senators introduced legislation that would allow Dish Network subscribers to continue to receive distant network channels. But many customers still will lose their signals temporarily, because the bill won't be enacted before the adjournment of Congress.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., last week introduced a bill that would allow residents in Colorado's La Plata and Montezuma counties to receive Denver broadcast television signals. Viewers in the counties are currently designated in the Nielsen Designated Marked Area (DMA) for Albuquerque, N.M.
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Programming is about to change for local DISH network customers.

Beginning Dec. 1, DISH subscribers throughout North Tahoe and Truckee will no longer get distant networks.

“[Customers] are not losing access to local programming, just to distant networks — those channels that originate outside the community where you live,” said Kathie Gonzalez, EchoStar’s DISH Network spokesperson.

On Oct. 20, a District Court judge issued an order rejecting the joint settlement agreement between EchoStar’s DISH Network and broadcasters, and entered a permanent injunction requiring EchoStar to shut off distant networks — the broadcast channels that originate from a market outside the local community. DISH can no longer provide certain distant network affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX to customers, regardless of whether they had channels from distant networks in the past.

Customers will continue to get programming from their local channels, Gonzalez said, and other nationally televised programming, such as ESPN, USA or Discovery, without interruption.

Because the designated market area for Tahoe-area residents is Reno, and with the new enforcement prohibiting distant networks, priority is given to local networks in areas where local networks are available, Gonzalez said.

While DISH will not disclose the number of their customers in the North Tahoe and Truckee region, there are 12.7 million DISH customers nationwide, and 900,000 of them take distant networks.

DISH has been fighting the issue for years, Gonzalez said.

“[We’re] just as disappointed in the result of the court action,” she said.

The law was created to protect broadcasters’ exclusivity, she said.

Only a small minority of people are affected by the service changes, including those residents who are outside a market that has launched its network by satellite, said Gonzalez. Because the Tahoe and Truckee community is in a market that has already been launched, residents are affected only because the law is now being enforced.

Can’t watch what you want when you want?

“That’s what DVR (digital video recording) is for,” Gonzalez said.
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[SintonFan]

Thanks for clearing that up bccards.:clap:

[luvhoops34]

Thanks for clearing up this issue.

#1. There is no such thing as "cable" where I live. I don't even see it happening in my lifetime.

#2. Cable sucks.

#3. I have all of the local stations for San Antonio and am very happy with them and don't need or want any distant stations.

[Old Tiger]

:mad: :mad: :foul: :foul: :mad: :mad:

[VanKampen]

my "distant" channels are out of san antonio so i no longer have abc, cbs, nbc, fox, upn, and all those other channels.