DirecTV launches HD locals in Rochester, NY and Lincoln, NE
By Darren Murph 
posted Aug 24th 2008 11:54PM
posted Aug 24th 2008 11:54PM
No surprises here, but we figured you'd be interested in knowing that DirecTV is indeed keeping its promise of rolling out HD locals in a few new markets this summer. According to an attentive local in Rochester, New York, high-def locals have been fired up in his area, and according to official verbiage from the satcaster, Lincoln, NE can say the same. With 44 DMAs on tap, we suspect this will be the first two in a long, long list that will unfold as the months progress.[Thanks, Jim]
It would be nice if they would focus on getting better at channel penetration within a given delivered market. For instance, many markets still have channels that DirecTV claims it delivers the locals, but in fact are only a fraction of the channels in that given market.
For instance, several PBS stations in Atlanta are broadcasting digitally, but DirecTV offers none of them on their advertised HD locals package. So, this keeps people tied to their OTA antenna, and consumers easily find reason to dismiss their HD Locals claims.
And to further this condition, they charge people for a band-aid OTA that is no better in solution and costs money.
As a DirecTV customer in Lincoln, I was happy to see that they finally launched the HD locals, but as GhostDoggy said, I still can't drop the OTA -- no PBS, and then the FOX channel we get doesn't yet broadcast in HD, so I've got to pull in the Omaha FOX station to get HD. Nevermind the sub-channels that are available OTA that I can't get via sat.