http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/ Engadget HD Comments for SuddenLink drops Austin, Texas NBC affiliate (KXAN-TV) http://hd.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://hd.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2009 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/Jan 1st 2008 10:38AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/
Its all about personal choices. If you choose to live where you do and it has a mountain, grouping of trees, or just a distance between your home and the regional broadcast channel operators, then that is your personally chosen problem.

I would much rather have the 3rd party distribution networks (DBS, and cable and telephone operators) focus on national channels that is more applicable to everyone in their subscribership than tailoring to regional accommodations.

Of course the first step is this 'idea' is to disallow local channels the right to block a consumer's desire to get a national feed of the broadcast networks (e.g. ABC, CBS, etc.). I no more feel local channels should have a right to what 'I' watch than any other channel whether its OTA or not.]]>Jan 1st 2008 9:50AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/
What is really sad about this is that the Suddenlink area covers more of the rural areas of the city or those 30+ miles from the TV tower. So without a good outdoor antenna good luck getting a decent analog picture on either of these UHF channels. (36 and 54)]]>Jan 1st 2008 11:03AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/" FYI - From Suddenlink
This is just FYI - so that you will know what is happening with the loss of KXAN if you are a Suddenlink subscriber. Also, Suddenlink will be on site at the Social Center Lobby on Wednesday morning, January 2, to hand out antennas and instructions for hook-up for your convenience, if you so desire.

From Robert B LeCour, Georgetown System Manager, Suddenlink
Please understand: We were forced by KXAN's owner (LIN-TV, an east coast media conglomerate) to pull this station from our line up against our will. We made repeated offers to them, even this evening, in an attempt to keep KXAN on our line up and they continually rejected our offers. We even asked for an extension while we continue to negotiate. They said "No" and demanded we pull their signal under penalty of law. We are as frustrated by this situation as you are and promise we will add KXAN back to our line up in Georgetown, Leander, Pflugerville and elsewhere as soon as their owner gives us permission to do so.

Any suggestion by KXAN that Suddenlink voluntarily pulled their station from your line up is a blatant misrepresentation of what has actually happened here.
One of the most frustrating elements of this negotiation was the fact that KXAN's owner refused to talk with us about a deal that involved only KXAN. They wanted us to provide them with economic consideration for stations in other markets -- including a CBS station they own in New Mexico. We already have another CBS station available to our New Mexico customers, and told them we wanted to focus just on KXAN and just for customers like you who don't have another NBC option. The fact that they refused such a deal suggests to us they care more about their TV stations in other cities and states than they do about their viewers in places like Pflugerville.

Regardless, we will continue to negotiate with KXAN's owners. In terms of your other questions: Details were posted to our Web site at www.suddenlink.com/fyi Thursday night and updates were added there tonight. We did not communicate sooner because, frankly, we had every reason to believe we would get a deal done. Our negotiating team has completed hundreds of these deals and has never beeen forced to pull a station like this under penalty of law.

In the meantime, we are providing set-top antenna free of charge (with installation instructions) on a first come, first-served basis while supplies last. Details on how they can be obtained are available here: http://suddenlink.wordpress.com/2007/12/30/complimentary-set-top-antenna/.
In the meantime, if you are so inclined, I hope you will consider communicating with KXAN and its owner, LIN-TV, asking that they put this channel back on Suddenlink's line up while we attempt to reach a deal. You can contact KXAN at 512-476-3636 and the parent company (LIN-TV) at 401-454-2880 or information@lintv.com.

Robert B LeCour
Georgetown System Manager"

I agree with GhostBuster. Also, I would also like to know just how much 3rd party distribution networks (e.g. Dish Network) are being paid by each of the shopping channels they broadcast. Is "block booking" of a multitude of shopping channels making distributors rich or just decreasing the number of other types of content channels that can be broadcast by a particular distributor? What are the real reasons consumers are being denied ala carte programming? We get to download particular songs we want as long as we pay a fee. Why are we not allowed a similar model for television? Heck, I might not want NBC in my home at all - or any LIN content at all.]]>Jan 1st 2008 11:23AMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/
I've written to LIN and NBC about this dispute and DirecTV. I no longer will watch any NBC content because I can't get it in HD. HD is no longer a gimmick. ]]>Jan 1st 2008 2:02PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/SPURRING TREMENDOUS GROWTH IN ANTENNA SALES
FOR ANTENNAS DIRECT™

Sales Increased 220% 3Q 2007 Over 3Q 2006
As Cable TV Looses 1.1 Million Subscribers


December 3, 2007, St. Louis, MO –The cable industry has lost over one million subscribers this year, suggesting a year ending with a 2 percent loss of market share, as reported recently in several newspapers, trade magazines and Internet newsletters. Some of the declines actually surprised Wall Street. But they didn’t surprise Richard Schneider, President of Antennas Direct, whose new Terrestrial Digital brand of antenna sales tripled during the same period. Schneider said “Because of the tremendous improvements in our Off-Air antenna technology and design that have taken place in the last few years, along with changing customer attitudes and needs in the new and highly competitive digital TV and HD era, we’ve found ourselves right in the middle of a thriving resurgence of Over-The-Air (OTA) antennas. Research projects that 15 percent of TV households and 23 percent of TV sets in U.S. homes don’t receive cable or satellite TV. That represents more than 70 million TV sets that only receive OTA broadcast television. It’s no wonder our phones are ringing off the hook.”

Schneider continued “Two of the reasons suggested by most business reporters for the decline in cable numbers are TV subscribers switching to Satellite (DBS) and the emergence of telco TV. While partially true, telco numbers are much too small to be a significant factor, but a meaningful percentage of these cable TV losses come from unhappy cable customers switching to OTA antennas and dumping cable’s hundreds of unwatched channels in favor of getting all their favorite local broadcasts FREE. Cable companies are stumbling with penetration percentages hitting a 17-year low. A significant number of cable subscribers are finally getting enough of cable TV’s higher costs, billing add-ons, service outages, contact difficulties, aggravating half-day in-home service waits and no shows, resulting in lost customers, while our business is doubling about every 180 days”

On November 29, 2007, The Bridge Data Group reported overall “customer satisfaction” with DBS at 72% and cable at only 58% and the “likelihood to switch” for both at 10%. These numbers might have accounted recently for the “attack” on a Comcast payment center in Virginia by a 75 year-old hammer wielding grandmother.

And it’s not only problems with Cable (and Satellite) providers that have caused this dramatic OTA antenna sales increase. The benefits of Off-Air antennas are compelling and numerous. There is only so much room on cable or satellite bandwidth in which to squeeze signal, so data is compressed to fit, resulting in a somewhat "soft" picture. An OTA signal is the gold standard in digital reception because it's completely uncompressed and also FREE; good news for the millions of homes not using cable or satellite. But what about those cable or satellite subscribers that want access to all their local broadcasts or all available HD local broadcasts, but can’t get them from their present provider.

Local digital TV broadcasts are everywhere. And how hot is HD? High Definition Televisions bumped digital cameras out of the top spot for the most desired CE product for 2007. But bandwidth limitations mean that cable and satellite providers may not carry all local channels in many areas, or may not offer all of them in high definition. Contract disagreements between local cable operators and local broadcasters can mean that major networks may not be available via cable TV in several areas. DISH Network® offers local HD coverage to about 47 percent of U.S. markets, while DIRECTV® reaches about 65 percent, but for an additional monthly fee.

“What about those other millions of viewers who want to see their favorite local shows and in HD” asks Schneider? “The answer is to add an OTA antenna to other signal reception sources”. This not only gives a viewer the ability to receive all their local stations, but, with the right Terrestrial Digital antenna, some viewers may even be able to receive out-of-town channels, which may carry blacked out sports programs or network broadcasts not available in their home town. For lower income families, an OTA antenna may be the only alternative. As an added benefit, an OTA antenna provides back-up reception options for local cable or satellite signal loss due to equipment failure or rain, snow and ice fade and to smaller TVs and second sets in homes not wired for whole-house signal distribution.

The Consumer Electronics Association, which does not track antenna sales, puts antennas in their accessory category. Accessory? Try getting an OTA broadcast signal without one.
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Ta-daa.]]>Jan 3rd 2008 11:22PMhttp://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/http://hd.engadget.com/2008/01/01/suddenlink-drops-austin-texas-nbc-affiliate-KXAN-TV/Jan 9th 2008 7:25PM