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Is it illegal to watch an out of market TV station ???

hamster said:
The guy from KUSA came to our house to buy a computer. He noticed that I was watching KOAA-TV on NewsON and became very VERY upset because not only am I getting KOAA on NewsON but I would rather watch that than KUSA
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His complaint is with NewsOn. They're the ones who have the right to make it available.

You're just an innocent viewer.
 
hamster said:
The guy from KUSA came to our house to buy a computer. He noticed that I was watching KOAA-TV on NewsON and became very VERY upset because not only am I getting KOAA on NewsON but I would rather watch that than KUSA
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It would have cost me a sale, but if it was me, I would have told him flat-out that I'm watching KOAA because it's better than KUSA. If a station's programming is deficient, it's on them, not anybody else.
 
I know weed is legal in Colorado but DAMN!!!! Thats some funny chit

So I wonder what his reason would be in this example
-I can get Mankato, MN with my antenna here in the suburbs of Minneapolis (72 miles away). Mankato is a 1 station market (CBS -1 FOX -2). By the way my NBC (KARE) is also owned by Tegna (same as KUSA)
-Mankato cable (due to again being a short market) getting all 4 nets from Minneapolis and ABC from Rochester/Austin/Albert Lea, MN markets

Boy he would have a aneurysm if you had an good outdoor in places like Omaha or Lincoln (2 separate markets but they are like 40 miles apart), Hartford or Springfield, MA (again 2 separate markets but maybe 35 miles apart), Lafayette, LA (can easily get Baton Rouge and Lake Charles), Lafayette, IN (full market now but can get Indy), St Joe, Missouri (Kansas City) :)
 
unclehonkey said:
-I can get Mankato, MN with my antenna here in the suburbs of Minneapolis (72 miles away). Mankato is a 1 station market (CBS -1 FOX -2). By the way my NBC (KARE) is also owned by Tegna (same as KUSA)
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Once again, this is NOT about broadcast TV. What you receive with an antenna is your business.

I have never owned a TV antenna. I have always received my TV from either cable or satellite. From what I can see, that is how the majority of Americans get their TV. Not via antenna.
 
TheBigA said:
Once again, this is NOT about broadcast TV. What you receive with an antenna is your business.
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I don't think it would have mattered to that KUSA employee. The OP was watching an out-of-market NBC affiliate, and he went ballistic. I can imagine his opinion of those who watch via antenna (aka "non-payers" or even "freeloaders.") -- even his own station.

I have never owned a TV antenna. I have always received my TV from either cable or satellite. From what I can see, that is how the majority of Americans get their TV. Not via antenna.
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That majority is shrinking by the year. Still a vast majority to be sure, but not what it was even a couple of years ago. For us geezers, as well as some Spanish-speaking viewers, the subchannels are an attraction, and don't cost the stations much money from what I've heard. For many others, they're tired of being gouged by the cable and satellite companies. Unless you're a sports fan, there's more than enough entertainment on the OTA channels and online (both pay and free).
 
KeithE4 said:
That majority is shrinking by the year. Still a vast majority to be sure, but not what it was even a couple of years ago.
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From what I can see, based on antenna sales, the movement is not towards OTA but rather internet delivery. That's a completely different deal, because any local TV station can become a superstation. Of course, they'll have to black-out any controlled network feeds. But if someone wants to watch LA local news in Miami, and they have the right app, they can do it.

That's why all the program suppliers on cable are developing internet apps or doing Roku deals so their consumers can get on-demand via internet. I don't know of any cable program supplier that is making content available via diginet OTA. Viacom, Universal, and Disney are all aiming for internet. They want to get credit card numbers and charge a monthly fee, just like a cable company.
 
unclehonkey said:
Boy he would have a aneurysm if you had an good outdoor in places like Omaha or Lincoln (2 separate markets but they are like 40 miles apart), Hartford or Springfield, MA (again 2 separate markets but maybe 35 miles apart), Lafayette, LA (can easily get Baton Rouge and Lake Charles), Lafayette, IN (full market now but can get Indy), St Joe, Missouri (Kansas City) :)
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Or in most of the Peoria-Bloomington (IL) DMA--including Grade B signals from the Quad Cities (Davenport/Rock Island/Moline) stations actually covering most of the city of Peoria proper. Plus go not too far E/SE of Peoria and you start getting Springfield/Decatur/Champaign stations on even a good indoor antenna.
 
Tim from Springfield said:
Or in most of the Peoria-Bloomington (IL) DMA--including Grade B signals from the Quad Cities (Davenport/Rock Island/Moline) stations actually covering most of the city of Peoria proper. Plus go not too far E/SE of Peoria and you start getting Springfield/Decatur/Champaign stations on even a good indoor antenna.
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Imagine if he was in western Massachusetts. If digital is anywhere close to how it was in the analog days, not only would Springfield stations be viewable, but also Hartford/New Haven, Albany/Schenectady (plus Adams MA), and Boston, at least with a good antenna. My folks lived there in the early '80s and had a good antenna with a rotator. On a good day, even NYC was viewable, and all the others I mentioned were regular. I have no family there anymore, so I don't know for sure how DTV reception is.
 
I live in Hartford County, Connecticut. If you have Comcast in either New Britain or Hartford, the only out-of-market station you'll get is WGBY-TV (PBS) channel 57 of Springfield, MA.

With that said, a relative has service with Frontier (also living in Hartford County). They don't get WGBY-TV. However, they do get channels 2, 4, 5, 7, 9 and 11 from New York City, WNET-TV (PBS) channel 13 from Newark and channel 50 (PBS) from Montclair, NJ. They get those channels in HD. Oddly, I don't think they get them in HD. Strange! (Nothing is ever syndexed!)
 
newsmark said:
I'd be interested in how this conversation came up in the first place.

You can watch anything you can receive without going to extreme measures, such as hacking your satellite box.

Now... some people who live in one market get ticked off because they can't watch another market on satellite. For instance, where I grew up, is the Sherman, Texas-Ada, Oklahoma market. People in and around Sherman used to watch Dallas-Fort Worth stations via antenna and even on cable, until .2 and .3 channels allowed the locals to carry all of the major networks and a couple of minor networks.

People still try to get their satellite installers to give them the DFW market because they believe they have "the right" to view those stations via satellite, and they get upset with the cable company because they have "the right" to view those stations via cable.

Most affiliation contracts are exclusive to the point that the affiliates don't have "the right" to offer network programs outside their own DMA, whether by cable, satellite, or online. Same goes for syndicated programming.

They can't control the over-the-air signal, though. If you can see it, you can watch it. Your local affiliate (and its advertisers) would prefer that you watch network shows on the local channel. The distant stations don't gain anything from those out-of-market stations--they don't get ratings from out-of-market viewing and their advertisers won't pay more to reach you. But if the signal is available to you, there's nothing illegal about watching it.
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affiliates don't get any extra ratings from out of market viewers, and the local affiliate loses viewers when someone watches an out of market affiliate, this is why Fox has a policy against out of market Fox affiliates in cable systems even if they have significantly viewed status, KNPN forced WDAF of cable in St. Joseph MO although it can still be picked up with a good antenna, KCJO and KNPG forced KCTV and KSHB off cable there also but can still be picked with a good antenna, KQTV and KMBC has coexisted on cable for decades though
 
nomadcowatbk said:
affiliates don't get any extra ratings from out of market viewers, and the local affiliate loses viewers when someone watches an out of market affiliate, this is why Fox has a policy against out of market Fox affiliates in cable systems even if they have significantly viewed status, KNPN forced WDAF of cable in St. Joseph MO although it can still be picked up with a good antenna, KCJO and KNPG forced KCTV and KSHB off cable there also but can still be picked with a good antenna, KQTV and KMBC has coexisted on cable for decades though
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As a viewer, I say "Who gives a flying fig?" That's the station's problem, not mine. If they can't provide decent local programming, I'll watch elsewhere. The fact that the station I prefer to watch affiliates with the same network is irrelevant.

To put it in plain English: If your newscast sucks, it's on you, not me. I don't owe you squat! I'll find one that's better, in-market or outside. Make your product better, and I might come back. But I don't care one bit about your carriage fees or your advertisers, nor do I have to. NMFP.
 
KeithE4 said:
As a viewer, I say "Who gives a flying fig?"
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I think you're right. Look how streaming has changed local radio. If I live in LA and I don't like the music mix on the local station, I simply stream one from another market. It might be within the same ownership (iHeart or CBS), but their apps allow for that. It hurts them for local audience, but they can make some money from online. Sure, the costs are higher, but if people can do something, they will do it. Now that people can stream TV programming and local stations, the owners are making deals with video streaming services. Thee concept of local, in video like radio, could be a thing of the past.
 
unclehonkey said:
I know weed is legal in Colorado but DAMN!!!! Thats some funny chit

So I wonder what his reason would be in this example
-I can get Mankato, MN with my antenna here in the suburbs of Minneapolis (72 miles away). Mankato is a 1 station market (CBS -1 FOX -2). By the way my NBC (KARE) is also owned by Tegna (same as KUSA)
-Mankato cable (due to again being a short market) getting all 4 nets from Minneapolis and ABC from Rochester/Austin/Albert Lea, MN markets

Boy he would have a aneurysm if you had an good outdoor in places like Omaha or Lincoln (2 separate markets but they are like 40 miles apart), Hartford or Springfield, MA (again 2 separate markets but maybe 35 miles apart), Lafayette, LA (can easily get Baton Rouge and Lake Charles), Lafayette, IN (full market now but can get Indy), St Joe, Missouri (Kansas City) :)
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...or Baltimore and DC, Buffalo-Rochester, Pittsburgh and Wheeling, heck even Denver and Colorado Springs since 60 miles seperates.

This is a guy from KUSA who believes that KUSA is the best station on earth, he probably thinks their anchors can walk on water whatever. Nobody has ever told him that KUSA sucks until me.
 
landtuna said:
Perhaps the more correct word would be "entitled" rather than "right".

Years ago, in the heyday of the Big Ugly Dish, there were many broadcasts in the clear (unencrypted). Programmers tried selling access to these clear broadcasts but the fact was, if they were broadcast in the clear anyone with the appropriate receiving equipment was entitled to view them without payment or subscription. Eventually, the programmers encrypted the broadcasts they wanted to restrict from the general public and it became illegal to operate an unsubscribed receiver to view their content.

Today, in border Canada, it is possible for Canadians to receive TV and radio broadcasts originating in the USA and (supposedly) intended for U.S. residents only. However it is not illegal for them to view the broadcasts they can receive and likewise for Americans to view Canadian broadcasts.
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I pick up several cities local stations on my 10 footer. I'm watching KRBK out of Missouri right now and I live in Washington.
 
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TheBigA said:
I think you're right. Look how streaming has changed local radio. If I live in LA and I don't like the music mix on the local station, I simply stream one from another market. It might be within the same ownership (iHeart or CBS), but their apps allow for that. It hurts them for local audience, but they can make some money from online. Sure, the costs are higher, but if people can do something, they will do it. Now that people can stream TV programming and local stations, the owners are making deals with video streaming services. Thee concept of local, in video like radio, could be a thing of the past.
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Thank-you. I live in Connecticut and I listen to Real 106.1 out of Philly on the iHeart Radio app. They play (mainly) Throwback hip-hop. The app must know I'm in Connecticut because I hear an ad regularly for a lawyer out of Hartford, CT.
 
hamster said:
If it is the case then put KUSA on NewsON. Problem solved !!
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Who's problem are you talking about? KUSA is owned by TEGNA and could easily be on NewsOn. That's a corporate thing. It has nothing to do with some employee who wants you to watch his station instead of an out of town competitor.
 
TheBigA said:
I think you're right. Look how streaming has changed local radio. If I live in LA and I don't like the music mix on the local station, I simply stream one from another market. It might be within the same ownership (iHeart or CBS), but their apps allow for that. It hurts them for local audience, but they can make some money from online. Sure, the costs are higher, but if people can do something, they will do it. Now that people can stream TV programming and local stations, the owners are making deals with video streaming services. Thee concept of local, in video like radio, could be a thing of the past.
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I live in the San Francisco. A co-worker streams KFI all day. Personally, I think he's nuts - talk radio messes with my composure - but I get it. KGO here is a shadow of its former self, and the other local talk stations just run syndicated programming. Streaming out of market radio is becoming common.
 
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