Decent sub channels not carried on your local cable or satellite (over the air only )

Many of the major players Me-Tv, Antenna TV, Bounce and a few others have found their way to local cable and satellite, but I'd guess at least 75% of the sub channels are not carried.

Do you often find yourself switching to over the air to watch them?

Would it be that difficult for cable and satellite to add more subs (do they have the room)?

Should stations use more leverage in getting their subs added (by local contract with the provider)?

What subs are missing on your local cable or satellite that you'd like to see added?

A lot of it has to do with the deals the cable system have with the local channels. In Jackson, TN Charter carries all the subchannels from WBBJ 7 in Jackson (CBS with Me TV as filler), WREG 3 in Memphis (Their 24/7 news channel and Antenna TV), and WMC 5 in Memphis (Bounce and Grit), but they don't carry the subchannels from WJKT 16 in Jackson (Escape and Grit already come in from WMC, but they don't carry Laff either.) or WHBQ 13 in Memphis (Decades and Escape).

Satellite doesnt carry the subs because there just isnt room

Cable can but just like local stations they have to come to an agreement to carry the subs. LP stations do NOT qualify for must carry so unfortunately the DTVAmerica stations usually are left out

In KC area every provider has 4.2 but not 4.3 This TV yet. CCI doesn't have Laff but has Cozi TV 41.2,38.2 Bounce but not 38.3 Escape,38.4 Grit that others don't have yet other then Google Fiber,62.2 that's know TBA,Life,Qubo,IONSHOP,5.2 that's trying to show up,low power stations,KCPTDT4 PBS Kids that Comcast,Sprectrumkc,Google Fiber has added today.

Many of the major players Me-Tv, Antenna TV, Bounce and a few others have found their way to local cable and satellite, but I'd guess at least 75% of the sub channels are not carried.

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huh?

Cable carries MOST of the subchannels as long as they are not on a LP station. Heck PBSKids was just added today to Comcast in Minneapolis (today is the launch day)

Should stations use more leverage in getting their subs added (by local contract with the provider)?

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Then there will be more stations pulled from cable. Sorry I dont want say NBC pulled because they wont carry their 24/7 news rerun channel.

What subs are missing on your local cable or satellite that you'd like to see added?

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The only subs on a full power station that is not on cable
-GetTV (sub on the CW...use to be carried but when Sinclair moved GetTV from WUCW-DT2 to a new DT4 so Comet can be put on WUCW-DT2 it was dropped. That was 9 months ago)
-Qubo and Ion Life (Ion subs). Mediacom (3rd tier suburbs) carry them. Comcast doesn't
-Bounce, Escape, Laff, Cozi...but they are on a LP DTVAmerica station

Ironically Comcast DOES carry the LP Telemundo and Univision affiliates...mainly due to local commercials. But not in HD. Uni has no subs. Telemundo has Sonlife (carried as nat'l feed) and a couple shopping channels (not carried)

Otherwise Comcast carries the subs
PBS-Minnesota Channel, PBSKids and a 24/7 WX station
CBS-Decades
ABC-H&I
IND-Me, This, Antenna
FOX-Bounce
MY-Movies!
NBC-WXNation, Justice
CW-Comet, Grit

Another problem is how many full power stations a city can have even small Markets. KCKS-LD is on one provider in KC area and could be on the Major ones if can get them to add them. KAJF/KCMN has ones like GETTV,Accuweather,ASN,Tuff TV,Decades and so on that needs to be on Cable Systems.
AT@T U-Verse has none and S. Dish does have room if get rid channels from 0 to 99.

Grit, COZI, Escape and Get are not carried in Detroit despite having local full power affiliates.

I'm glad I have a roof mounted antenna and a PVR for this programming.

WMNN (Traverse City-Cadillac DMA) has the following subchannels:
26.2 Antenna TV
26.3 Laff
26.4 Escape
26.5 Grit
26.6 Buzzr

None of these are carried on Charter Cable (possibly because WMNN, which broadcasts from Cadillac, doesn't have a reliable OTA signal at their headend in Traverse City; 26.1 is carried in most of the area served by that TC lineup)

I still can't figure out why Charter Cable in the San Gabriel Valley of Los Angeles area will not strike a deal to carry MeTV.
We have Cozi, Decades, Get TV, Buzzr, Laff, This TV, Antenna TV, Bounce TV, several PBS subchannels like First Nations Experience, several foreign language subchannels (Chinese, Armenian), and Spanish subchannels. MeTV is carried in the Los Angeles DMA by an independent station, KDOC. But still I don't get it that why it is so difficult to add MeTV. I would like an answer but good luck getting any info from Charter Cable and about how they determine what channels get added. The former Time Warner areas carry MeTV West and I thought Charter would at least add it once they merged.

COX Cable is very slow to add sub channels at least on their 3 Connecticut systems. I don't know about their other systems in other parts of the system.

They don't carry WCCT 20.3 (Comet), WCTX 59.2 (Grit), WCTX 59.3 (Justice), WVIT 30.3 (TeleExitos), WUVN 18.4 (LaTV), WHPX 26.2 (Qubo?), or WHPX 26.3 (ION Life?).

Also. I don't know how they screwed this up. On April 15th, 2015 The Laff Network launched. It was announced that WFSB would air LAFF on Channel 3.3, replacing their in-house "Eyewitness News Now" their 24 hr News and Weather Station. COX carried that on Channel 801. One would've thought that LAFF would've appeared on Channel 801. It was even listed on the on-screen program guide, but no. On Channel 801 COX put the newly launched Channel 3.2 which is ESCAPE. It would be more than a year before COX would add LAFF on 814 (I think).

COMCAST/XFINITY on the other hand on their New Britain/Plainvlle/Bristol system in Connecticut carries Comet, Grit, Escape, Laff, and LaTV. They don't carry Justice, ION Life, Qubo, or TeleExitos. They carried Laff since its April 15, 2015 launch on the Channel that had been Eyewitness News Now (as it should be). COMCAST also carries the 3 sub-channels of WGBY Channel 57 the Springfield, Mass PBS station. Last I knew they DO NOT carry WGBY in HD even though they've carried WGBY for at least 35 years!

Are Cable Systems Required to Carry Local TV Station Subchannels?

I notice most of the subchannels on the major TV stations in the NYC area are carried on Spectrum/Time Warner and Verizon Fios, but a few are not. For instance, my cable system doesn't have WCBS-TV 2.2 Decades. Yet WNBC 4.2 Cozi TV is carried. So are Live Well and Laff from WABC-TV. My dad has Verizon Fios which does carry Decades but is missing a few that I get.

My friend has the bare minimum plan from Spectrum/Time Warner, called Starter TV. That includes only over-the-air channels and a few select cable stations such as NY1 News and QVC. He gets many of the subchannels, but again is missing a few that I get, such as Movies! seen on Fox O&O WNYW-TV 5.2. It's on my line-up but not on his. Fox Stations recently launched The Light, a diginet organized by Mark Burnett and Roma Downey, with only family-safe shows, some religiously themed. Yet I don't see it yet on my cable line up.

I suppose subchannels are not considered "Must Carry." Yet Spectrum is giving Starter TV subscribers most of them. Do local TV stations negotiate subchannel carriage with the cable providers as part of their retransmission rights? You would have thought CBS negotiated with Time Warner that it must air its NYC subchannel Decades. Not long ago, CBS even had a fight lasting several days where WCBS-TV and Showtime were pulled off Time Warner's cable line-up. Yet in this hard-fought deal, CBS apparently didn't demand TW carry its subchannel, which at the time was a rolling local news outlet called CBS+, a subchannel that was converted to Decades when the diginet was launched.

Subchannels are not mandatory carry. I do believe it is the result of a negotiation. If you're lucky enough to live in a good reception area, using an outdoor antenna is likely your best bet.

Comcast here in Springfield, IL has most of the limited subchannel offerings (for a market ranked in the 80s, but an elongated one too) for the western half of the Springfield/Decatur/Champaign DMA.

The two exceptions are two netlets added by Nexstar-owned WCIX-49 (RF 13) last Sept. 1: Escape (49.3) and Laff (49.4). (BTW 49.1 is WCIX's main MyNet signal, 49.2 simulcasts CBS from sister station WCIA-3.1 Champaign). No word on when (or if) Comcast may add these netlets to their Springfield system.

I also don't know if these WCIA-only netlets will make it to Springfield's Comcast lineup either: Bounce TV (3.3) and Grit (3.4). (BTW 3.1 and 3.2 is a reverse of the WCIX situation in Springfield: 3.1 CBS, 3.2 My). However, Sinclair-owned WICS Springfield and WICD Champaign also carry Grit on their .3 subchannels (20 and 15 respectively)--but for how much longer. (Although Sinclair's new "Charge" channel announced yesterday, plus that internet-based TBD channel announced in December, could be candidates to eventually replace Grit on their Springfield and Champaign stations).

Here Sub-channels that I get from Charter in Kzoo market: Nexstar WoodTV/WOTV/WXSP subs: Grit, Escape, Get TV, Laff, Cozi, Bounce TV. Tribune FOX17: This TV, Atenna TV. TENGA WZZM13: WZZM On Target Weather Network local ACCUWeather, The Justice Network. WGVU: Crate, World News Channel. Sinclair WWMT: CW7, Comet not on Charter Comcast has it from the ad I have seen which I don't see very much. WLLA which is low power station faith base programming: Me TV used have Retro TV which is there .3 that Charter does not carry. Charter doesn't have any of the ION subs.

But I'm not into the sub-channels only channels I got into was TheCoolTV which was WOTV .2 before it went goodbye in July 2013, WZZM Weather Network just to see the highs local forecast, Justice Network from time to time.

For the Grand Rapids market [Comcast serves Grand Rapids, Holland, and GR's inner suburbs while Charter serves outer GR suburbs and most of Ottawa County]:
WWMT-DT2 (CW): Comcast 17; Charter 7
WWMT-DT3 (Comet): Comcast 296 [not carried on Charter]
WOOD-DT2 (Bounce): Comcast 292; Charter 200
WOOD-DT3 (Laff): Comcast 293; Charter 193
WZZM-DT2 (Weather): Comcast 298; Charter 191
WZZM-DT3 (Justice): Comcast 297; Charter 181
WXSP-DT2 (Cozi TV): Comcast 290; Charter 178
WXSP-DT3 (Escape): Charter 177 [not carried on Comcast]
WXMI-DT2 (Antenna): Comcast 295; Charter 198
WXMI-DT3 (This TV): Comcast 294; Charter 199
WGVU-DT2 (Create): Comcast 287; Charter 196
WGVU-DT3 (MHz Worldview): Comcast 288; Charter 197
WGVU-DT4 (Schedules): Charter 195 [not carried on Comcast]
WOTV-DT2 (Get TV): Comcast 289; Charter 192
WOTV-DT3 (Grit): Comcast 286; Charter 179
WLLA-DT2 (MeTV): Charter 194 [not carried on Comcast]
WLLA-DT3 (Retro TV): not carried on Comcast or Charter

None of the ION subchannels are seen on Comcast or Charter.

None of IONTV's also not on CCI.
Ones that CCI KC doesn't have either yet KSHB Laff TV
KMCI Escape,Grit that's only on Google Fiber yet.
Nobody has added back FOX4KC This TV but with Sinclair taking it over might has also Stadium,Charge,TBD to add same with KCTV5 Comet TV
Low Power ones other then one that picks up KSKC-LD ones
Others PBS Kids,Other Local Government Channels,Metro Weather,Sprectrum Weather,Sprectrumkc Sports Channels and so on
Mediacom might not have The Movies KCWE.

Retro, Comet, Escape, Grit, GET and Justice are offered OTA, but not carried on any cable system that I'm aware of in the Detroit market.

In Northeast Ohio, Spectrum carries these diginets:
WKYC 3.2--Justice Network
WKYC 3.3--local weather radar
WEWS 5.2--Grit (formerly Cozi)
WEWS 5.3--Laff
WJW 8.2--Antenna TV
WOIO 19.2--MeTV
WVIZ 25.2--Ohio Channel
WVIZ 25.3--PBS World
WVIZ 25.4--Create
WUAB 43.2--Bounce
WUAB 43.3--Grit (was there before WEWS also picked up the network)
WEAO 49.2--Fusion
WEAO 49.3--MHz Worldview
WBNX 55.3--Movies!
WQHS 61.3--GetTV

I have a portable digital TV with an antenna that picks up most of the subchannels our cable doesn't pick up.
WDLI 17.2--Hillsong
WDLI 17.3--Smile of a Child/JUCE TV
WDLI 17.4--Enlace
WDLI 17.5--Salsa
WVPX 23.2--Qubo
WVPX 23.3--Ion Life
WVPX 23.4--Ion Shop
WVPX 23.5--QVC
WVPX 23.6--HSN
WVIZ 25.5--PBS Kids
WBNX 55.4--Heroes & Icons
WQHS 61.2--UniMas
WQHS 61.4--Escape

WBNX 55.2, the Happy Channel, comes in extremely scrambled on my antenna TV. I have very little knowledge of what that network is, but from what I've heard, it's a religious channel. Strangely enough, most of the time, my portable TV's antenna won't even pick up some of the bigger local channels like WJW Fox 8, WOIO Cleveland 19 and WUAB CLE 43, but the subchannels on the list above come in no problem. Go figure. Maybe the antenna's just kind of weak. I personally would like to see H&I and Escape become available on Spectrum.

I'd also like to see Buzzr moved to a stronger station in the Northeast Ohio market (currently on low-power WEKA Channel 41.2 in Canton). Same with American Sports Network (now on WQDI Channel 20.4) and AMGTV (now on WQDI Channel 20.7).

umfan said:

Subchannels are not mandatory carry. I do believe it is the result of a negotiation. If you're lucky enough to live in a good reception area, using an outdoor antenna is likely your best bet.

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Unless that subchannel, in unlikely cases, is affiliated with a Big 4 network.

Update Charter Spectrum added PBS Kids when I saw channel 176 thought it was a sub-channel thought it would have been Comet but it wasn't when I flipped it was PBS Kids.