Decades is being removed from the Boston area

[MikaelaArsenault]

Weigel To Launch ‘Start TV’ Female Diginet

The new multicast network will debut on Sept. 3 featuring procedural dramas focusing on strong women. At launch, it will reach 42% of U.S. TV households anchored by the CBS Television Stations.

Weigel Broadcasting Co. on Wednesday unveiled its latest multicast entertainment television network — Start TV —with CBS Television Stations as the launch group. It will premiere on Monday, Sept. 3.

Start TV, it said, will showcase “strong and resourceful female leading characters in a lineup of contemporary and proven procedural dramas. Each lead character and series embody a boldness and determination to ‘Start’ leading the way, seeking the truth, solving the crime and defending the innocent.”

The new network will replace Decades, another Weigel-produced diginet, on most, but not all of the CBS O&Os. However, according to Weigel’s VP of Marketing Will Givens, Weigel remains committed to Decades and has already lined up new affiliates in Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

https://tvnewscheck.com/article/219154/weigel-launch-start-tv-female-diginet/

 

[channel99]

Weigel To Launch ‘Start TV’ Female Diginet

The new network will replace Decades, another Weigel-produced diginet, on most, but not all of the CBS O&Os. However, according to Weigel’s VP of Marketing Will Givens, Weigel remains committed to Decades and has already lined up new affiliates in Chicago, Los Angeles and elsewhere.

https://tvnewscheck.com/article/219154/weigel-launch-start-tv-female-diginet/

Too bad, Decades is unique. WBZ has no other diginets and could keep it while adding Start TV, but probably won't. The Boston market has also lost AntennaTV, Movies!, Comet, and others...

 

[MikaelaArsenault]

Too bad, Decades is unique. WBZ has no other diginets and could keep it while adding Start TV, but probably won't. The Boston market has also lost AntennaTV, Movies!, Comet, and others...

It is too bad. I did contact Decades yesterday and am hoping to hear back from them, but probably won't.

 

[MikaelaArsenault]

Don't remember Movies! and it being removed, but it's now Escape where I live. Antenna TV is still looking for an affiliate according to an email sent a few months ago, but nothing has popped up yet.

 

[MikeyBos]

Too bad, Decades is unique. WBZ has no other diginets and could keep it while adding Start TV, but probably won't.

WSBK-TV only has one sub-channel (Heroes & Icons on 38.2) currently, so they could also move Decades to a new sub-channel 38.3. But again, they probably won't. I agree it really is too bad because it is unique compared to many of the other digital sub-channel networks.

 

[Kbirdusa]

I don’t understand why Start TV can’t be on 4.3. WBZ should have plenty of bandwidth.

Unfortunately, WBZ won’t make a deal with Antenna or Movies or Comet. That’s only happening at the station group level - not at the individual station level for the CBS O&Os.

I have mixed feelings about Decades. I do like their weekend marathons. And before they went to the standard weekday schedule, they had some real rarities. But now, most of their series are those that have run on MeTV for a long time. I don’t feel like we’re losing a lot.

 

[Mr Tony]

I don’t understand why Start TV can’t be on 4.3.

Putting it on -2 will give it pretty much instant cable coverage. Here in Minneapolis it is going to be the same where Decades gets dropped from WCCO. The advantage you have is CBS does have WSBK so they could add it there. Minneapolis does not have that luxury. Also it took until Decades started for CBS O&O stations to even add a sub so I dont see them adding a -3

I have mixed feelings about Decades. I do like their weekend marathons. And before they went to the standard weekday schedule, they had some real rarities. But now, most of their series are those that have run on MeTV for a long time. I don’t feel like we’re losing a lot.

I agree. Now the only show I really watch is Through the Decades

 

[channel99]

Here's what each market has and what's missing (on Rabbit Ears):

https://rabbitears.info/networkgrid.php

(It's a little simpler for a quick view if "Hide Submarkets" is selected.)

LA and Chicago don't have Decades now. San Francisco is missing both MeTV and AntennaTV. Boston is the only large market without Movies!. NYC doesn't have Comet. And so on...

 

[Mr Tony]

LA and Chicago don't have Decades now.

they still do and will until 9/3. Trip just updated those listings with "soon". Decades will go to a Weigel owned station in Chicago (probably WWME)

 

[Eli Polonsky]

Too bad, Decades is unique. WBZ has no other diginets and could keep it while adding Start TV, but probably won't. The Boston market has also lost AntennaTV, Movies!, Comet, and others...

I get Comet on WJAR 10.3 from Providence well with an indoor antenna here on the side of a southwestern facing hill in Somerville. I used to also be able to get Decades on one of the WLWC 28 subchannels, but I completely lost 28 when its transmitter was moved last year.

 

[Channel 83]

I get Comet on WJAR 10.3 from Providence well with an indoor antenna here on the side of a southwestern facing hill in Somerville. I used to also be able to get Decades on one of the WLWC 28 subchannels, but I completely lost 28 when its transmitter was moved last year.

You (and a lot of other folks)....lost the WLWC-28 signal when WPXQ-69 bought the WLWC zombie license, and began using WLWC to air "Ion Life" on a sub-channel on WPXQ's spectrum.

WPXQ's transmitter is in Hopkinton, RI.....somewhere very close to the Connecticut border.

A lot of folks in Rhode Island and Southeastern MA have difficulty picking up WPXQ......let alone a location like Somerville, MA.

 

[channel99]

WPXQ's subchannels are the same as WBPX's. Each also has a shared station carrying ION Life - WLWC in Providence, and WDPX in Boston. The only real difference is that WPXQ also has another shared station - WRIW, carrying Telemundo.

 

[channel99]

I get Comet on WJAR 10.3 from Providence well with an indoor antenna here on the side of a southwestern facing hill in Somerville. I used to also be able to get Decades on one of the WLWC 28 subchannels, but I completely lost 28 when its transmitter was moved last year.

WLWC also had Movies! on one of their subchannels.

Somerville is apparently not a good location to receive WWDP, which WMFP will be sharing with, eventually... The latest sharing delay WMFP requested from the FCC is due to the inability of the DirecTV uplink site, listed as Inner Belt Rd in Somerville, to receive WWDP over-the-air, and the need for WMFP / WWDP to provide a fiber link, which Verizon has been slow in installing.

 

[Channel 83]

WLWC also had Movies! on one of their subchannels.

I still miss Movies! on WLWC so much, not to mention Antenna TV on the former WBIN.

 

[Eli Polonsky]

I've only seen WPXQ and WWDP skip in here in Somerville just a couple of times on certain "troppo" nights since I got HDTV a decade ago, and I'm on a higher elevation location than Inner Belt Rd.

 

[alg2468]

WWDP almost never comes in reliably in the Pawtucket/East Providence area. And it will be interesting to see once the spectrum changes are final what channels will improve their signal coverage are in the Boston/Providence/Worcester areas. According to rabbitears.org, it looks like stations like WJAR and WLNE will get a decent signal boost and coverage area. And will the remaining stations get additional subchannels? Time will tell.

 

[Skynet74]

There could be some good news here for Decades. Tonight my TV picked up a black Screen for 38.3. It looks like they are preparing to add something there. It just may be the new home for DECADES.

 

[channel99]

WWDP almost never comes in reliably in the Pawtucket/East Providence area. And it will be interesting to see once the spectrum changes are final what channels will improve their signal coverage are in the Boston/Providence/Worcester areas. According to rabbitears.org, it looks like stations like WJAR and WLNE will get a decent signal boost and coverage area. And will the remaining stations get additional subchannels? Time will tell.

WWDP's antenna is only 450' - a little over 1/3 of the height of the Needham towers, and they can't improve on that much because WTNH, Hartford, is also on ch 10, plus WMUR and WENH are on adjacent channels.

 

[Channel 83]

There could be some good news here for Decades. Tonight my TV picked up a black Screen for 38.3. It looks like they are preparing to add something there. It just may be the new home for DECADES.

Speaking of black screens:

I'm also getting a black screen for 38.3, but I am also getting black screens on my TV for the following:

15.3, 15.4
28.2, 28.3, 28.5, 28.6
50.1, 50.2, 50.3, 50.4

 

[channel99]

There could be some good news here for Decades. Tonight my TV picked up a black Screen for 38.3. It looks like they are preparing to add something there. It just may be the new home for DECADES.

There is something there, more or less, but their encoder is not configured yet. It has PSIP data for only 38-1 and 38-2. Putting Decades there would be a logical move.