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WBTS - Home of NBC Boston?


The Frog

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Well, just as equally ridiculous is the fact that Ansin keeps going back and forth with Comcast/NBCUniversal over the ownership of the WHDH-TV (Channel 7) license. Hell, he should just make off like a thief in the night with the cash and just invest it into WLVI with "The News Station" branding while keeping the CW affiliation. I highly doubt CBS is concerned with the home of the CW affiliation at the moment otherwise they would have long ditched the MyTV service for WSBK. It's a win-win versus the "Battle of the Egos" between him (Ansin) and the suits at Comcast/NBCUniversal. Ultimately, this situation will end with the maiming of Ansin and Comcast in the Boston market to the benefit of Hearst and CBS.

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I doubt that they will change the call letters - they just don't matter anymore. Someone in another forum posted that WNEU's digital repeater station on WTMU is up and running. I think it's true because I can suddenly get WNEU without adjusting my antenna.

 

I now believe that WNEU will be the affiliate, at least to start. Perhaps NBC will continue to pursue a stronger signal.

 

WTMU recently filed a license to cover for the digital channel. But I'm sure this was going to occur with or without NBC Boston.

 

Is it just me or was a can of worms reopened when this thread was started? I feel as if this thread should be locked too. My temper is being shortened by the minute...

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Well, just as equally ridiculous is the fact that Ansin keeps going back and forth with Comcast/NBCUniversal over the ownership of the WHDH-TV (Channel 7) license.

 

Wait.... Do you mean they're arguing over who owns the station's license? Please clarify.

 

Ultimately, this situation will end with the maiming of Ansin and Comcast in the Boston market to the benefit of Hearst and CBS.

 

And maybe Cox, too!

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Wait.... Do you mean they're arguing over who owns the station's license? Please clarify.

 

 

 

And maybe Cox, too!

 

I'm referring to the pissing contest over the price for selling of the WHDH-TV broadcast license from Sunbeam to Comcast/NBCUniversal. This is why this whole stupid situation has came about in the first place.

 

Oh yeah, I doubt Cox will benefit since their handling of WFXT has been rapid decline of that station's quality of news product. This is one situation where FOX/21st Century Fox had a better handle on a news product quality.

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NBC should have never pulled their affiliation from WHDH. I guess they were expecting to wow Ed Ansin with a sale price that he wouldn't have refused. He won't budge and now NBC is trying to scrape up a station to broadcast from come January 1st. If they actually cared about broadcasting, they would have an acceptable station by now or would have gone through the proper channels of readying WNEU to serve Boston properly WHEN THEY COULD HAVE DONE SO....but now that the FCC is freezing things due to the auction, they're SOL.

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And what they're scraping up is a little LP that won't fill an entire market.

 

NBC has officially filed an app to buy ZGS's LP station WTMU for $100K. NBC will be operating the station under an LMA until the sale's closing.

 

What's also interesting is that they're using the "Station Venture Operations" as it's licensee name.

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The Boston market has cable/satellite penetration over 95% and cable/satellite use over 85%. Those are some of the highest numbers in the country. The necessity of a strong conventional over the air signal is not that big a deal for now. And after the auction shakes out, many things could change anyway.

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And what they're scraping up is a little LP that won't fill an entire market.

 

NBC has officially filed an app to buy ZGS's LP station WTMU for $100K. NBC will be operating the station under an LMA until the sale's closing.

 

What's also interesting is that they're using the "Station Venture Operations" as it's licensee name.

 

I wouldn't read too much into this as ZGS cashing out of Boston than an oddball Hail Mary.

 

I wonder where things would be without the auction looming.

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Well at least they got the majority of the 3.7 percent that will potentially watch "NBC Boston" OTA. It's probably going to go down to maybe 1 or 1.5 percent that won't be able to see WTMU-LD or WNEU.

 

And I am willing to bet that most of that 1.5% are on the fringes of the market that can't get WHDH OTA to begin with and may have more luck with other affiliates not named WJAR. WCSH in eastern NH/far northeast MA, WWLP in western Worcester County, WNNE in Western NH/southeast VT, even in some edge areas WVIT and WNYT.

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I wouldn't read too much into this as ZGS cashing out of Boston than an oddball Hail Mary.

 

I wonder where things would be without the auction looming.

Maybe NBC would have had a chance to buy WBPX from Ion. It and WLVI are the most likely candidates to cash out their spectrum.

 

As it is, I agree; this transaction for WTMU was going to happen regardless of this overarching fiasco. I only question why there was a delay for it after NBC ended ZGS's LMA with WNEU two years earlier.

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NBC should have never pulled their affiliation from WHDH. I guess they were expecting to wow Ed Ansin with a sale price that he wouldn't have refused. He won't budge and now NBC is trying to scrape up a station to broadcast from come January 1st. If they actually cared about broadcasting, they would have an acceptable station by now or would have gone through the proper channels of readying WNEU to serve Boston properly WHEN THEY COULD HAVE DONE SO....but now that the FCC is freezing things due to the auction, they're SOL.

NBC bought WNEU in 2002, then promptly gave it to ZGS to run, and took full control in April 2014.

 

That was more than enough time for them to have thought up and built out a full-market digital signal, either by themselves or with ZGS... and they wouldn't be in this mess.

 

Outright laziness on their part.

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Maybe NBC would have had a chance to buy WBPX from Ion. It and WLVI are the most likely candidates to cash out their spectrum.

 

As it is, I agree; this transaction for WTMU was going to happen regardless of this overarching fiasco. I only question why there was a delay for it after NBC ended ZGS's LMA with WNEU two years earlier.

 

WBPX? I think that WWDP would've been the likely candidate if anyone with no auction looming.

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Who knows, maybe these moves are a way for Comcast to put pressure on Ansin to sell. For all we know, they could be talking to Ansin right now trying to negotiate a purchase price. Thing is, Ansin is no dummy and he knows that he can extract a few extra million/conditions from Comcast, so that's why publicly he's said what he's said. They both have each other by the balls in one way or another.

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It looks like NBC Boston (with the still not confirmed call letters of WBTS) may reach Boston viewers through Telemundo station WNEU after the station group adds low-power station WTMU.

 

“We are purchasing a station in Boston to immediately supplement the current coverage of our WNEU footprint in the market and it will factor into our plan for NBC Boston,” an NBCUniversal spokesperson told TVSpy. “We will release more details soon.”

 

http://www.adweek.com/tvspy/nbc-gives-partial-look-at-how-it-will-broadcast-to-boston/178205

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It seems the digital signal of WTMU-LP is now online.

 

I'm in the part of MA just south of Boston that can't get WNEU, even if they tried (y'know, like most boston viewers). I randomly scanned my channels tonight and noticed I now get WNEU's feed and all 2 of it's subchannels.

 

That was quick.

 

http://www.rabbitears.info/market.php?request=station_search&callsign=64996#station

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Could the correct answer be: "Channel Packing"? (i.e. Paying Hearst or Cox for 3 mHz?)

 

 

 

Doesn't work quite like that.

 

Speculation

 

But NBC could come along to WCVB, WFXT or WSBK-TV and ask if they could lease channel space. NBC could bring in state of the art encoders to allow them to squeeze in a 1080i, 720p, and a 480i signal into the 19.39 Mbps of channel space. The ideal situation I think would be for them to strike up a deal with WSBK - MyNet programming can be downgraded to 720p and their required average bitrate isn't that high.

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Doesn't work quite like that.

 

Speculation

 

But NBC could come along to WCVB, WFXT or WSBK-TV and ask if they could lease channel space. NBC could bring in state of the art encoders to allow them to squeeze in a 1080i, 720p, and a 480i signal into the 19.39 Mbps of channel space. The ideal situation I think would be for them to strike up a deal with WSBK - MyNet programming can be downgraded to 720p and their required average bitrate isn't that high.

 

Remember what happened in Miami and how they had a stick in Homestead but ended up with the transmitter where all the others were after the DTV conversion? Turn in the license to Channel 60, get your payout, make a Channel-sharing arrangement with someone. Isn't that what the FCC wants people to do? The opening bids for WNEU are WNEU 303,305,400 / 227,479,050 / 121,322,160. Take the 300 million, share the proceeds with someone else, and take 3mHz from them?

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There's likely going to be a significant difference between the opening bids for spectrum and the final price tag.

 

And honestly, as I said before, NBC owned WNEU for well over a decade. Along with operators ZGS, they HAD ample opportunity to engineer a full-market DTV signal for the station. But they didn't, and they will have to deal with the consequences.

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There's likely going to be a significant difference between the opening bids for spectrum and the final price tag.

 

And honestly, as I said before, NBC owned WNEU for well over a decade. Along with operators ZGS, they HAD ample opportunity to engineer a full-market DTV signal for the station. But they didn't, and they will have to deal with the consequences.

There were people who said that NBC would still be forced to have their DTV transmitter in Homestead. But the FCC let them relocate to the tower farm in Miami. Don't underestimate the power of Comcast, not to mention that Boston, and specifically the northern part of Boston, is very congested spectrum-wise. Another option: Take the $121 million or even $60 million and relocate to VHF-hi. Do you really think if NBC asks, they wouldn't be allowed to relocate to Boston proper?
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