Significantly viewed out of market TV stations in the United States
Encyclopedia
Significantly viewed are television station
s determined by the Federal Communications Commission
(FCC) to be local stations that have a significant viewership outside of their Nielsen
designated market area
(DMA). The federal legislation was passed to help protect television viewers living in extraterritorial and border areas from losing local television stations where viewers are living outside of the DMA.
ming rather than the original purpose of picking up local programming
from television station
s in a specific area that it can pick up.
, cable companies such as Comcast
and Time Warner
are leading the way of removing out of market television stations from the basic cable lineup. This is done by cable companies to preserve bandwidth on channels 2 to 13 but also reduce the redundancy of multiple affiliate
s in addition to federal mandates to keep in-market local affiliates. A handful of cable providers with out of market and redundant affiliate stations in the past have moved over the out of market stations to digital cable channels 100 and above. Many cable companies nationwide are not doing this since they are removing SV stations entirely from the cable lineup. This has led to some controversy in some parts of the country. The forerunners in the SV stations moving over to Digital Cable have been on-going since 2005 for several Comcast Cable outlets in New Jersey, Virginia, and a few Time Warner Cable outlets in North Carolina. All of what has been said is occurring in significantly viewed counties that are bordering nearby television markets.
along the Delaware River
. Phillipsburg
, Milford
, Frenchtown
, and Lambertville
, all downstream on the Delaware River, sometimes lean towards this as well. Belvidere used to lean towards the Philadelphia market solely on television reception since it was not able to receive New York City. However since it is located in Warren County
, it is officially part of the New York City
DMA. When cable companies advanced with premium programming and later digital cable, the Philadelphia stations disappeared on the basic cable lineup but were later moved to the digital cable tier for KYW
, WCAU
, and WTXF.
. It is part of the Harrisonburg DMA, consisting of two Virginia counties and one West Virginia county
. Harrisonburg is a fringe area because it is 100 miles from Washington, DC; Richmond, Virginia
; and Roanoke, Virginia
. It was originally part of the Richmond DMA. It is approximately 40 miles away from Charlottesville, Virginia
, which has its own DMA which was also once part of the Richmond DMA. Comcast Cable of Harrisonburg is home to two ABC
affiliates (WRIC (Richmond) and the market's own affiliate, WHSV (Harrisonburg)), four NBC
affiliates (WVIR (Charlottesville), WRC (Washington, DC), WSLS (Roanoke), and WWBT (Richmond), two CBS
affiliates (WUSA (Washington, DC) and WTVR (Richmond), two Fox
affiliates (WHSV's subchannel and WTTG (Washington, DC)). Only one station for PBS
(WVPT (Harrisonburg)); WHSV's other subchannel is My Network TV (MNTV) and CW
coverage from WVIR. The basic cable tier consists of WUSA, WHSV, WVIR, WTTG instead of WHSV's own Fox Network, CW from WVIR, and MNTV from WHSV. Prior to 2006, many of these stations were on the same basic cable tier but were dropped to preserve bandwidth and eliminate the redundancy of multiple affiliates. All of the stations that were not mentioned in the basic cable tier are now moved over to digital cable.
A further example of this would be Toledo, Ohio. A mere 45 miles from a major market (Detroit), and close to a second major market (Cleveland), most of Detroit's signals penetrate deep into Toledo's market, and thus are carried on Buckeye Cable. This is similar in situation to Baltimore (close to Philadelphia and Washington, DC) and Topeka
, which is within range of Kansas City
's television stations.
. Since the beginning of television, it has been reliant for NBC coverage from WECT out of Wilmington, North Carolina
. Lumberton has been in and out of different DMAs between the Raleigh, Wilmington, and Florence/Myrtle Beach markets. It is currently in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market since the late 1990s. With that said, it did not have its own NBC affiliate until August 2008 so parts of the market over-the-air or on cable received a different NBC affiliate, whether it was WIS (Columbia, South Carolina
), WECT (Wilmington), WCNC (Charlotte
), or WCBD (Charleston, South Carolina
). The new NBC affiliate is WMBF, the market's NBC affiliate in Myrtle Beach. When it went on the air the first day, cable companies were required to pull the plug on all of the other NBC affiliates it was carrying before WMBF went on the air in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market. As a result, Lumberton residents were in outrage of this and wanted WECT back on the cable lineup; this was despite WMBF, WECT and WIS all being under the same ownership of Raycom Media
, thus the pulling would in effect promote WMBF within their market over out-of-market sister stations. This is also in addition that WMBF's over-the-air signal does not even reach the North Carolina side of the Florence/Myrtle Beach market. On December 1, 2008, WECT returned to the Lumberton Time Warner Cable lineup on digital cable instead of basic cable tier.
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s determined by the Federal Communications Commission
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
(FCC) to be local stations that have a significant viewership outside of their Nielsen
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
designated market area
Media market
A media market, broadcast market, media region, designated market area , Television Market Area , or simply market is a region where the population can receive the same television and radio station offerings, and may also include other types of media including newspapers and Internet content...
(DMA). The federal legislation was passed to help protect television viewers living in extraterritorial and border areas from losing local television stations where viewers are living outside of the DMA.
History
In 2005, the FCC completed a federal study on all of the DMAs in the United States. It came up with a list of counties in each state where out of market television stations are significantly viewed by residents who are using antennas, whether or not they are cable and satellite subscribers. The study also looked at the history of viewership of the original Community Access Television (CATV) installations throughout the country as well. CATV is the predecessor of cable television today. Today's cable television lineup is much more focused on premium channel television programTelevision program
A television program , also called television show, is a segment of content which is intended to be broadcast on television. It may be a one-time production or part of a periodically recurring series...
ming rather than the original purpose of picking up local programming
Local programming
The term Local Programme, Local Programming, Local Content or Local Television refers to a television programme made by a television station or independent television producer for broadcast only within the station's transmission area or television market...
from television station
Television station
A television station is a business, organisation or other such as an amateur television operator that transmits content over terrestrial television. A television transmission can be by analog television signals or, more recently, by digital television. Broadcast television systems standards are...
s in a specific area that it can pick up.
Today
With the advancement of digital cableDigital cable
Digital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
, cable companies such as Comcast
Comcast
Comcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
and Time Warner
Time Warner
Time Warner is one of the world's largest media companies, headquartered in the Time Warner Center in New York City. Formerly two separate companies, Warner Communications, Inc...
are leading the way of removing out of market television stations from the basic cable lineup. This is done by cable companies to preserve bandwidth on channels 2 to 13 but also reduce the redundancy of multiple affiliate
Affiliate
An affiliate is a commercial entity with a relationship with a peer or a larger entity.- Corporate structure :A corporation may be referred to as an affiliate of another when it is related to it but not strictly controlled by it, as with a subsidiary relationship, or when it is desired to avoid...
s in addition to federal mandates to keep in-market local affiliates. A handful of cable providers with out of market and redundant affiliate stations in the past have moved over the out of market stations to digital cable channels 100 and above. Many cable companies nationwide are not doing this since they are removing SV stations entirely from the cable lineup. This has led to some controversy in some parts of the country. The forerunners in the SV stations moving over to Digital Cable have been on-going since 2005 for several Comcast Cable outlets in New Jersey, Virginia, and a few Time Warner Cable outlets in North Carolina. All of what has been said is occurring in significantly viewed counties that are bordering nearby television markets.
Significantly viewed channel preservation and CATV
Two examples of the SV channel preservation on digital cable and at the same time, CATV favoring a non-designated DMA is Belvidere, New JerseyBelvidere, New Jersey
Belvidere is a Town in Warren County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 2,681. It is the county seat of Warren County....
along the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. Phillipsburg
Phillipsburg, New Jersey
Phillipsburg, known locally as P'burg, is a town in Warren County, New Jersey, in the United States. As of 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 14,950....
, Milford
Milford, New Jersey
Milford is a Borough located in western Hunterdon County, New Jersey. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,233....
, Frenchtown
Frenchtown, New Jersey
Frenchtown is a Borough in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the borough population was 1,373....
, and Lambertville
Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,906.Lambertville was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1849, from portions of West Amwell Township...
, all downstream on the Delaware River, sometimes lean towards this as well. Belvidere used to lean towards the Philadelphia market solely on television reception since it was not able to receive New York City. However since it is located in Warren County
Warren County, New Jersey
Warren County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 108,692. Its county seat is Belvidere...
, it is officially part of the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
DMA. When cable companies advanced with premium programming and later digital cable, the Philadelphia stations disappeared on the basic cable lineup but were later moved to the digital cable tier for KYW
KYW-TV
KYW-TV, virtual channel 3, is an owned and operated television station of the CBS Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. KYW-TV shares a studio facility with its sister station, CW flagship WPSG just north of Center City Philadelphia...
, WCAU
WCAU
WCAU, channel 10, is an owned-and-operated television station of the NBC Television Network, located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. WCAU has its studios on the border between Philadelphia and Bala Cynwyd. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 34 from a transmitter in the...
, and WTXF.
Redundant affiliates
An example of redundant affiliates serving the same area is Harrisonburg, VirginiaHarrisonburg, Virginia
Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of Virginia in the United States. Its population as of 2010 is 48,914, and at the 2000 census, 40,468. Harrisonburg is the county seat of Rockingham County and the core city of the Harrisonburg, Virginia Metropolitan Statistical...
. It is part of the Harrisonburg DMA, consisting of two Virginia counties and one West Virginia county
Pendleton County, West Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,196 people, 3,350 households, and 2,355 families residing in the county. The population density was 12 people per square mile . There were 5,102 housing units at an average density of 7 per square mile...
. Harrisonburg is a fringe area because it is 100 miles from Washington, DC; Richmond, Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
; and Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke, Virginia
Roanoke is an independent city in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. state of Virginia and is the tenth-largest city in the Commonwealth. It is located in the Roanoke Valley of the Roanoke Region of Virginia. The population within the city limits was 97,032 as of 2010...
. It was originally part of the Richmond DMA. It is approximately 40 miles away from Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, which has its own DMA which was also once part of the Richmond DMA. Comcast Cable of Harrisonburg is home to two ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
affiliates (WRIC (Richmond) and the market's own affiliate, WHSV (Harrisonburg)), four NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
affiliates (WVIR (Charlottesville), WRC (Washington, DC), WSLS (Roanoke), and WWBT (Richmond), two CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
affiliates (WUSA (Washington, DC) and WTVR (Richmond), two Fox
Fox Broadcasting Company
Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
affiliates (WHSV's subchannel and WTTG (Washington, DC)). Only one station for PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
(WVPT (Harrisonburg)); WHSV's other subchannel is My Network TV (MNTV) and CW
The CW Television Network
The CW Television Network is a television network in the United States launched at the beginning of the 2006–2007 television season. It is a joint venture between CBS Corporation, the former owners of United Paramount Network , and Time Warner's Warner Bros., former majority owner of The WB...
coverage from WVIR. The basic cable tier consists of WUSA, WHSV, WVIR, WTTG instead of WHSV's own Fox Network, CW from WVIR, and MNTV from WHSV. Prior to 2006, many of these stations were on the same basic cable tier but were dropped to preserve bandwidth and eliminate the redundancy of multiple affiliates. All of the stations that were not mentioned in the basic cable tier are now moved over to digital cable.
A further example of this would be Toledo, Ohio. A mere 45 miles from a major market (Detroit), and close to a second major market (Cleveland), most of Detroit's signals penetrate deep into Toledo's market, and thus are carried on Buckeye Cable. This is similar in situation to Baltimore (close to Philadelphia and Washington, DC) and Topeka
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, which is within range of Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
's television stations.
Controversy
An example of controversy over residents losing a long-time out of market affiliate stations happened in Lumberton, North CarolinaLumberton, North Carolina
Lumberton is a city in Robeson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 20,795 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Robeson County. Lumberton, located in southern North Carolina's Inner Banks region, is located on the Lumber River...
. Since the beginning of television, it has been reliant for NBC coverage from WECT out of Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington, North Carolina
Wilmington is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County, North Carolina, United States. The population is 106,476 according to the 2010 Census, making it the eighth most populous city in the state of North Carolina...
. Lumberton has been in and out of different DMAs between the Raleigh, Wilmington, and Florence/Myrtle Beach markets. It is currently in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market since the late 1990s. With that said, it did not have its own NBC affiliate until August 2008 so parts of the market over-the-air or on cable received a different NBC affiliate, whether it was WIS (Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia, South Carolina
Columbia is the state capital and largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The population was 129,272 according to the 2010 census. Columbia is the county seat of Richland County, but a portion of the city extends into neighboring Lexington County. The city is the center of a metropolitan...
), WECT (Wilmington), WCNC (Charlotte
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte is the largest city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the seat of Mecklenburg County. In 2010, Charlotte's population according to the US Census Bureau was 731,424, making it the 17th largest city in the United States based on population. The Charlotte metropolitan area had a 2009...
), or WCBD (Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
). The new NBC affiliate is WMBF, the market's NBC affiliate in Myrtle Beach. When it went on the air the first day, cable companies were required to pull the plug on all of the other NBC affiliates it was carrying before WMBF went on the air in the Florence/Myrtle Beach market. As a result, Lumberton residents were in outrage of this and wanted WECT back on the cable lineup; this was despite WMBF, WECT and WIS all being under the same ownership of Raycom Media
Raycom Media
- History :Although Raycom Media dates its birth to 1996, the core of the company was formed in 1992 when Atlanta native Bert Ellis formed Ellis Communications. He eventually controlled 13 television stations and two radio stations....
, thus the pulling would in effect promote WMBF within their market over out-of-market sister stations. This is also in addition that WMBF's over-the-air signal does not even reach the North Carolina side of the Florence/Myrtle Beach market. On December 1, 2008, WECT returned to the Lumberton Time Warner Cable lineup on digital cable instead of basic cable tier.
See also
- Must-carryMust-carryIn cable television, governments apply a must-carry regulation stating that locally-licensed television stations must be carried on a cable provider's system.- Canada :...
- Satellite Home Viewer ActSatellite Home Viewer ActThe Satellite Home Viewer Act of 1998 comprises a set of regulations which govern the transmissions of television stations in the USA, specifically imposing the restriction of satellite carrier transmissions of a network station's transmissions only to subscribers who cannot receive these...
- Retransmission consentRetransmission consentRetransmission consent is an option granted to US television stations as part of the law that granted such stations the option to elect must-carry rights. Under retransmission consent, a full-power US television station may elect to negotiate with a cable system operator for carriage of its...
- Cable television in the United StatesCable television in the United StatesCable television in the United States is a common form of television delivery, generally by subscription. Cable television first became available in the United States in 1948, with subscription services in 1949. Data by SNL Kagan shows that as of 2006 about 58.4% of all American homes subscribe to...
- Digital cableDigital cableDigital cable is a generic term for any type of cable television distribution using digital video compression or distribution. The technology was originally developed by Motorola.-Background:...
- List of United States over-the-air television networks
External links
- http://svtvstations.webs.com Unofficial list of TV stations outside of DMA's on Cable & Satellite that are Significantly Viewed. In addition, it provides a list of "DMA split counties"
- http://fjallfoss.fcc.gov/coals7/forms/search/cableSearchNf.cfm CATV & Cable Directory of local channel lineups dating as early as the 1970's to the present year
- SV channels offered by DirecTVDirecTVDirecTV is an American direct broadcast satellite service provider and broadcaster based in El Segundo, California. Its satellite service, launched on June 17, 1994, transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States, Latin America, and the Anglophone Caribbean. ...
- http://tvlistings.zap2it.com/tvlistings/ZBLocalize.do Cable television look-up
- http://www.truckads.com/licensed_affiliates1.asp#usamap Nielson DMA Maps
- http://www.tvjobs.com/cgi-bin/markets/market2.cgi Nielson DMA rankings