I'm watching WJLA 7-3 in Maryland, and there's a solid red slide with this on it:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=127605&stc=1&d=1231133500

After doing a search on wikipedia on Equity Media (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equity_Media_Holdings#Financial_troubles), it turns out the company filed for bankruptcy last month. I would hate to see RTN go, this is the only channel I really watch...:worried:

A couple of months ago, there was a blank channel on the local NBC affiliate that was supposed to be for RTN; but, nothing ever happened. A recent rescan of the DTV box removed that subchannel completely. Then, it was announced that the FOX network would be moving from the ABC affiliate to the NBC affiliate effective January 5th. Supposedly, RTN programming was to be carried during "non FOX programming" times. I guess that will be a "no go" if the network goes belly up! Go figure! Let a decent network come along with good programming and it goes belly up while all the other networks with their shitty reality shows, etc. keep going strong!

I was looking forward to getting this network. :( I would think with all the subchannels available out there, syndication of old programs would pick up. Fox killed a bunch of independents way back, and infomercials seemed to have killed the free space on the rest of the local stations not filled by network programing which has increased as well.
I was reading over some question and answer pages on a couple of local channels web sites. People are not happy. Come feb. all hell is going to break loose. One thing you don't do is take away someones TV. It should be great fun. :)

This is what wiki said......In June 2008, after many financial troubles facing its parent company, RTN was sold by Equity Media Holdings to Henry Luken, the company's largest shareholder for $18.5 million in cash. The network is now owned by Luken Communications, LLC. Equity has the option to re-purchase the network within six months of the close for $27.75 million. The network will continue to be operated out of Little Rock, Arkansas and use Equity's C.A.S.H. (Central Automated Satellite Hub) system.[2]

On January 4, 2009, a contract conflict between Equity Media Holdings Corporation and RTN interrupted the programming on many RTN affiliates.

Another network that will be coming out is called This-TV with MGM programs not owned by Turner and time warner. So it sounds like RTN is still going (anybody getting it?) and more networks like it in the works which is great.

Maybe NOT gone.

I saw this same graphic early Sunday afternoon on WXYZ "7.2" Detroit.
At the same time, WNWO "24.2" Toledo had actual programming, but the audio was unreliable.

HOWEVER, but 7 PM (EST) that same evening, RTN was back on both stations.

Rob

Never heard of it... But it sounds like something interesting!

I'll keep an eye out for it on DirecTV.

Charles

That's good to hear. Last night I thought I was getting pbs from greenbay, but thought it was odd I didn't get any other channels. I am outside the fringe with a vhf antenna so I only get GB on a good day. It turns out I was picking up the pbs translator in Sister bay which by the crow flys is 30 to 40 miles away across the water.:thmbsp: I am still getting it today so I think it's a keeper. :banana:It cuts out a little tho. Once I get a UHF antenna up I should get it real good. I have a tower that's about 80 foot for my triband I am putting up. I will hang a UHF beam off the side of it fixed at GB.

Never heard of it... But it sounds like something interesting!

I'll keep an eye out for it on DirecTV.

Charles

I've never heard of RTN either, but I'll keep an eye out on DirecTV myself.

This is what wiki said......In June 2008, after many financial troubles facing its parent company, RTN was sold by Equity Media Holdings to Henry Luken, the company's largest shareholder for $18.5 million in cash. The network is now owned by Luken Communications, LLC. Equity has the option to re-purchase the network within six months of the close for $27.75 million. The network will continue to be operated out of Little Rock, Arkansas and use Equity's C.A.S.H. (Central Automated Satellite Hub) system.[2]

I didn't see that article on wikipedia until you mention it, but at least there back up here at my end, hopefully this won't happen again...

RTN is the only reason why I like my converter box, they have a lot of great classic shows that are a lot better then the crap they put on today. There is nothing on the other subchannels but PBS and the Weather channels which I took most of them off.

At least I won't miss Airwolf next weekend... :cool:

You guys with DirecTV should be able to get it.

I am still getting RTN as of this past Saturday as a sub-channel of CBS affiliate KIRO TV in Seattle, over my converter box. I have found nothing on the Internet to contradict that. Wish they'd move off "Ironside" however...Luv that Dragnet !!!!

Well, I now have RTN. Just checked and caught the tail end of "Kojak". Here, it's actually the fox network but RTN programming is carried during non FOX programming slots.

A friend of mine who now lives in Lafayette, La. mentioned the "red slide" yesterday. Glad to hear it's still on the air. I wish I could pick it up in New Orleans but the closest affiliates are translators in Baton Rouge and Hattiesburg - I could erect a 300ft. tower and still wouldn't pull them in!

I have THIS-TV thru a local channel WNEG-TV. They used to be a CBS afilliate, but they dropped it.

THIS plays The Outer Limits, and The Patty Duke Show alot. Sometimes, I catch Mr. Ed.

Lots of commercials.

We can only hope that it takes off. Best of luck to them.

I see a couple of things about RTN that I like already. There are no stupid logos, crawlers, pop-up's, etc. on the screen and they don't chop the closing credits off the end of a show.

I did get a little ticked, though. I saw the opening theme to "Knight Rider", then they went to a commercial, and then to a 30 minute infomercial about the DTV transition. This happened at 6 PM CST, probably the time that FOX programming takes over.

Something is going on with them. I get them from Wave Broadband on CH. 105.8. They get it from KIRO TV, CH 7.2 in Seattle. The programs I am seeing do not match the program guide, and yesterday I had an orange RTN logo screen for a little while. Later they started running programs, but starting at odd times and stuff I've never seen on them before. I hope they get things worked out. I enjoy watching the old stuff they carry

My current antenna setup won't pull in WJLA on digital before about 10pm. My goal has been to move the antenna up higher; RTN is really the only reason I wanted to do this. One of the few things I've caught on there is that odd "talk" show they run at 11pm. I bet that guy would have the answer to whatever is going on!

I was thinking about posting an RTN thread today when I found this one.

When I got my first converter box in October, the only "good" I could find was the RTN subchannel. (7.2 in Detroit). It reminded me of the low-budget Detroit UHF channels of my youth (WXON-20, WKBD-50 & WGPR-62). Given the crummy digital signal, the pixelation and freeze-ups reminded me of poor UHF reception.

It was great to see shows like Kojak, Dragnet, Adam-12, Emergency!, and so on. At 11 PM they ran Night Gallery. I had told my girlfriend about this show, but she had never seen it (She's about 10-years younger than me). The first time we watched it together, it was a really trippy episode about a witch that needs to move into a young body by midnight... It scared the crap out of my girlfriend... She said she couldn't believe they'd run stuff that scary on TV. Not to mention the frightening theme song and psychedelic graphics.

Then it gradually started to suck. Night Gallery was pulled and replaced with some LAME-ASS talk show.:dammit:

Kojack got bumped for a low-rent version of Regis & Kathy Lee. :yuck:

Instead of late-night with Jim Rockford, we got late night with Billy Mayes infomercials. :bash:

There are still a few good shows so I hope it survives, but I imagine that part of the problem is they seem to program the channel using a dart-board covered with old TV guides. Not much logic applied.

Example: There are at least a few guys like me who could care less about the dozens of boring football games on the big networks all weekend. So what might be a good alternative? How about a block of shows like...

Rockford Files
The Hulk
A-Team
Knight Rider
Afternoon Movie-The Original Gone in 30 seconds (1974)
Etc.

I swear I've seen most of those shows on RTN, just packaged randomly with Leave-it-to-Beaver or Marcus Welby. But what does RTN offer on the weekends?

Nancy Drew
Hardy Boys

:puke2:

Might as well watch paint dry and save CRT life!

So like everything else, it seems to start out pretty good, turns to crap and then disappears. :(

Sorry for my stupidity, but what is RTN?

My current antenna setup won't pull in WJLA on digital before about 10pm.


Why can you not get that station before ten o'clock at night if you are using an antenna? I would think you could get any OTA station within range 24/7, especially with a powerful antenna system. Is there some sort of interference that wipes out the station you're trying to receive, such as industrial noise, strong RF signals, et al. that doesn't disappear before 10 p.m.?

In any case, it doesn't make sense to me. :scratch2: If you have an antenna that gives you a decent digital signal, I would think you should be able to get any station you would ordinarily receive with a standard analog antenna system.

One of the few things I've caught on there is that odd "talk" show they run at 11pm. I bet that guy would have the answer to whatever is going on!

I was wondering that too, but "unreliable" wasn't on last night not even infomercials. I'm getting to same thing as Geoff Bourquin where the programing guide doesn't match what's on.

Sorry for my stupidity, but what is RTN?

Retro Television Network.

A television service, carried primarily on the .2 or .3 subchannels of digital TV stations (rarely seen on analog OTA TV or Cable), featuring re-runs of US television programs from about 1955 to about 1985.

http://www.myretrotv.com.

(note that the URL has recently changed due to the Equity/Lukens donnybrook).

Rob

My wife and I have become big fans of The Rockford Files. TIVO it everyday weekday evening (10 PM Eastern) on my Comcast box.

RTN has a long way to go before it is a true national cable TV network. I just looked at their affiliate map and am amazed. It has only one affiliate in Ohio, WNWO-DT in Toledo, and only one in Arizona, in Phoenix (KAZT-DT), to name but two examples. There are entire sections of the US, even large cities such as Chicago and New York City, that do not have any RTN affiliates whatsoever--yet. (I live near Cleveland, which does not yet have an RTN affiliate, OTA or on cable; when I had digital cable I could not find this network anywhere in the lineup.) I often wonder as well why New York City doesn't yet have an RTN affiliate, as NYC is the #1 television market in the country.

With so few affiliates, and some parts of the US having no RTN affiliates whatsoever, I'm surprised the network is still around. Most cable channels would have gone broke by now with this small number of affiliates. I would think RTN would be a very popular cable channel, with affiliates nearly everywhere, given the stuff that passes for comedy, etc. today on the broadcast networks. Hollywood made much better television shows 35+ years ago, IMHO, than they do now; what better place to show those old classics than on RTN?

Oh, well. If RTN is close to going dark (the affiliate map seems to be showing enough stations carrying the network, however, to justify keeping it going, at least for the near term), there are alternatives. Many classic TV shows (as well as many current network shows' past seasons) are now available on DVD, so it wouldn't surprise me if fewer people are watching classic shows on cable, turning instead to DVD. The price of DVD players has dropped drastically in the last 10 years or so, to the point where just about anyone who wants one can get one for his or her entertainment system. Blu-ray players are still quite expensive, but they too will come down in price eventually.

Whether or not DVD and/or digital cable's video on demand services will eventually kill basic cable channels such as TV Land and even movie channels like AMC or TCM, not to mention pay-cable movie channels such as HBO, Showtime and Cinemax, remains to be seen. I think of the very real possibility that these channels and services may someday be rendered obsolete by video on demand and DVD. The beauty of DVD is that viewers can have their own favorite shows to watch at will, without having to wait until these programs appear on cable. My own favorite classic shows (Kojak, Quincy, The Odd Couple, to name just three) disappeared from cable several years ago and almost never appear on broadcast TV anymore (Quincy and Magnum, P. I., not to mention The Rockford Files, used to be on one of Cleveland's UHF stations until about a year ago), but I'm enjoying them once again on DVD and even VHS these days (I have a collection of old movies and TV series I taped 25 years ago).

The day may come, sooner or later, when high-priced cable movie channels may very well disappear as video on demand becomes more widespread on digital cable, and more and more viewers get DVD players. What lies ahead for cable TV after that is anyone's guess.

Jeff, the reception issue is the same as with most reception, particularly am or sw. Reception improves later at night. I can get those DC stations during the day on analog (with plenty of snow) but the conditions have to be optimal for digital. My in-laws have their antenna on a pole and live on a small farm with no trees nearby. They can pull in all those stations without problem on digital, day and night.

I'm surprised you can even pickup WJLA-DT in Federalsburg, your at least 70 miles from the transmitter.

I am starting to notice something annoying about RTN. I don't know if the problem lies with RTN itself or the local affiliate. For one thing, the programs seem to start at odd times. Like at 1:47, 3:06, etc. The times don't seem to be consistent from day to day. And, tonight at about 6:07, "knight Rider" came on for about five minutes, then the web address for RTN came on the screen for a few seconds, then the "A Team" started. What gives? I don't like to get interested in a program just for another program to abruptly take over. I like both shows; but, I would like to see them in their entirety. Since the "A Team" started late, the last several minutes were chopped off due to the start of prime time FOX programming. I'm just wondering has anyone else noticed these problems?

Jeff, the reception issue is the same as with most reception, particularly am or sw. Reception improves later at night. I can get those DC stations during the day on analog (with plenty of snow) but the conditions have to be optimal for digital. My in-laws have their antenna on a pole and live on a small farm with no trees nearby. They can pull in all those stations without problem on digital, day and night.

I know myself, I can usually get Youngstown Ohio and Altoona/Johnstown, PA much better at night than I do during the day.

I am starting to notice something annoying about RTN. I don't know if the problem lies with RTN itself or the local affiliate. For one thing, the programs seem to start at odd times. Like at 1:47, 3:06, etc. The times don't seem to be consistent from day to day. And, tonight at about 6:07, "knight Rider" came on for about five minutes, then the web address for RTN came on the screen for a few seconds, then the "A Team" started. What gives? I don't like to get interested in a program just for another program to abruptly take over. I like both shows; but, I would like to see them in their entirety. Since the "A Team" started late, the last several minutes were chopped off due to the start of prime time FOX programming. I'm just wondering has anyone else noticed these problems?

We have here in Pittsburgh too, Mom watches RTN all day and she notices the same thing. I was going to watch it too but got called into work. I think maybe they are switching things around.

With so few affiliates, and some parts of the US having no RTN affiliates whatsoever, I'm surprised the network is still around. Most cable channels would have gone broke by now with this small number of affiliates. I would think RTN would be a very popular cable channel, with affiliates nearly everywhere, given the stuff that passes for comedy, etc. today on the broadcast networks. Hollywood made much better television shows 35+ years ago, IMHO, than they do now; what better place to show those old classics than on RTN?



I see that RTN appears on some DirecTV and Dish network satellite channels. Which would mean this signal is sprayed all across the country. Or do they have some mechanism to deny RTN from some satellite subscribers? I'm pretty much a died-in-the-wool OTA TV watcher...

I see that RTN appears on some DirecTV and Dish network satellite channels. Which would mean this signal is sprayed all across the country. Or do they have some mechanism to deny RTN from some satellite subscribers? I'm pretty much a died-in-the-wool OTA TV watcher...

RTN may be distributed nationwide via satellite; however, my point was that the network is not carried everywhere on OTA television stations or cable systems, which leaves a very large part of the US without access to the channel. Case in point: Here in Ohio, there is presently only one RTN affiliate, in Toledo (northwestern part of the state). The station, and its digital subchannel, is carried on cable and is available OTA in Toledo, of course, but no one else in Ohio can see RTN except via satellite.

This situation exists elsewhere in the country as well, even in large cities such as New York City (America's #1 media market) and Chicago, so it is not unique to one region. There is no excuse, IMHO, for RTN not to be carried on cable in New York, and the greater Chicago area is large enough as well that it could support an RTN affiliate on one of its big network-operated stations' digital subchannels. As it stands at the moment, the nearest RTN affiliate to Chicago is in Rockford, according to the network's affiliate map. It is entirely possible that Chicago-area cable systems could be importing RTN from a digital subchannel in Rockford or elsewhere.

I do not think, however, that the foregoing would be possible or even legal in Ohio under FCC rules, since the nearest RTN affiliate to Cleveland, as I mentioned, is over 100 miles away--and cable systems in major metropolitan areas are likely forbidden to carry cable channels from that distance, unless the station involved is an affiliate of a major network and the cable system serves an area that receives few or no local stations. The only way I can see every cable system here carrying RTN would be for the systems to pick up the raw satellite feed from RTN itself and distributing it over the cable systems' own facilities.

RTN states on its web site that it is always adding affiliates, but I have seen very little evidence of that lately, according to their affiliate map. Perhaps their thinking is that anyone outside the local broadcast range of an RTN affiliate will be receiving it on cable or satellite, so why even bother adding new stations? If this is in fact their rationale, they really should not, IMHO, state so boldly that they are always adding new stations. From what I've seen so far on the affiliate map, this isn't so, or else the network is adding affiliates so slowly it isn't funny.

<smip> RTN states on its web site that it is always adding affiliates, but I have seen very little evidence of that lately, according to their affiliate map. Perhaps their thinking is that anyone outside the local broadcast range of an RTN affiliate will be receiving it on cable or satellite, so why even bother adding new stations? If this is in fact their rationale, they really should not, IMHO, state so boldly that they are always adding new stations. From what I've seen so far on the affiliate map, this isn't so, or else the network is adding affiliates so slowly it isn't funny.


My guess that the bankruptcy of Equity Media made it difficult for RTN to sign up new affiliates.

I also suspect that there is an unwritten dictate not to develop subchannels on commercial stations in the Cleveland market. WEWS has no subchannels, even though co-owned (and also ABC affiliate) WXYZ Detroit has two (RTN on 7.2 and local weather loop on 7.3). WUAB had The Tube, but, since that service went bust, their 43.2 has been running a still graphic (announcing that The Tube is no longer available) for 15 months now! This in a market where the PBS (WVIZ) DT had (until very recently) been transmitting a totally inadequate 1kW at 30m. I would have though that the main WVIZ stream would have made a very good fill-in on 43.2. Another wasted opportunity is WQHS. It has no subchannel, but I have never seen any HD programming on it. Why not put co-owned Telefutura on 61.2?

Rob

My guess that the bankruptcy of Equity Media made it difficult for RTN to sign up new affiliates.

I also suspect that there is an unwritten dictate not to develop subchannels on commercial stations in the Cleveland market. Rob

Why should Cleveland be any different from any other city in the country where DTV subchannels are concerned? Where is it written that Cleveland cannot have subchannel programming on its existing seven TV channels? I have lived in northeastern Ohio my entire life, and have never heard of any such statute.

IMHO, there should be no restrictions in Cleveland as to what subchannels can be piggybacked onto the city's existing stations' main signals. Cleveland should have the opportunity to have DTV subchannels if the stations agree to it and can afford it. The city has been made fun of and maligned far too much already in the last 40 years (and it continues to this day). Keeping its TV stations from having DTV subchannels when other cities, yes, including Detroit, has had them for some time, doesn't make sense to me.

I honestly don't know where you get your information. How do you know so much about Cleveland television, anyway, when you live in Michigan? :scratch2: Did you live in the Cleveland/northeast Ohio area and/or work in TV in the area at one time?

The lack of RTN and other subchannels on Cleveland's commercial TV channels will, IMHO, just boost the sales of DVDs and DVD players in northeastern Ohio, as more viewers turn to DVDs to watch their favorite old classic shows. I am just about ready to downgrade my cable service to basic myself (I currently have Time Warner expanded basic cable), watching DVDs for other programming. As it is, I watch very little broadcast TV these days, instead watching DVDs of the old shows of the '70s I grew up with; in fact, I have a small collection of DVDs and VHS tapes of such programs as Quincy, Kojak, The Odd Couple, and more (I am adding more DVDs from time to time as well). I don't think I would miss the extra channels in the expanded basic package at all.

I don't care for the idea, either, of the FCC toying with the idea of yet again pushing back the digital transition date, as I read in a blog on an industry website (Broadcasting and Cable) the other day. First it was 2006, now it's mid-February 2009 . . . what next? It almost makes me think that the FCC isn't that serious about the transition after all. IMHO, they just want to keep people well off balance about the issue, and give the news media more to gossip about.

However, the same blog that mentioned the FCC's plan to again delay the digital transition also mentioned that it is actually too late to do so now. Too much money has been invested in PSAs (public service announcements) and runners across the screen during network shows intended to educate the viewing public about DTV and the transition [including stressing the fact that analog TV will end for good on 02.17.09], too much work and expense has gone into equipping the nation's analog TV stations for digital (the stations' owners are probably facing huge electricity bills at this time because of having to power two high-power TV transmitters at the same time, antenna/tower/transmitter maintenance for two stations, et al.), and so forth. I sincerely hope the digital transition occurs on 02.17 so we can get this over with, once and for all.

Sheeeesh . . . Good grief.

As it is, I watch very little broadcast TV these days, instead watching DVDs of the old shows of the '70s I grew up with; in fact, I have a small collection of DVDs and VHS tapes of such programs as Quincy, Kojak, The Odd Couple, and more (I am adding more DVDs from time to time as well). I don't think I would miss the extra channels in the expanded basic package at all.

However, the same blog that mentioned the FCC's plan to again delay the digital transition also mentioned that it is actually too late to do so now. Too much money has been invested in PSAs (public service announcements) and runners across the screen during network shows intended to educate the viewing public about DTV and the transition [including stressing the fact that analog TV will end for good on 02.17.09], too much work and expense has gone into equipping the nation's analog TV stations for digital (the stations' owners are probably facing huge electricity bills at this time because of having to power two high-power TV transmitters at the same time, antenna/tower/transmitter maintenance for two stations, et al.), and so forth. I sincerely hope the digital transition occurs on 02.17 so we can get this over with, once and for all.

Sheeeesh . . . Good grief.

Oh boo hoo! A months salary from an overpaid-talking-news-head could probably pay the electric bill for a year, or the money they get "serving" the public with colon-cleanser infomercials. If their business model is so bad that the lost ad revenue from PSA's kills them, they were dying anyways.

We know you love your Time-Warner cable. But guess what? The whole world doesn't want to subscribe to some shit-ass cable service, or have to be tethered to a cable box. I don't sit around and "dedicate" time to watch DVDs either... Sometimes I just like to have the TV on in the background while I do other things... The way McCloud is on right now as I type this. It's also the way I find new things to enjoy, not just buying things I've already heard of.

Plenty of people facing tough times and lost jobs right now, so I don't have much use for guaranteeing a revenue stream for a bunch of cable-companies and Chinese crap manufacturers looking to fill landfills with functional products.

I'm not going to cry if digital takes off, but I'll probably enjoy a good chuckle if the whole bomb blows up in the government-mandated face.:thmbsp:

Carmine, please, it's not good for you to hold back like this...let go, tell us how you really feel :)

Oh boo hoo! A months salary from an overpaid-talking-news-head could probably pay the electric bill for a year, or the money they get "serving" the public with colon-cleanser infomercials. If their business model is so bad that the lost ad revenue from PSA's kills them, they were dying anyways.

We know you love your Time-Warner cable. But guess what? The whole world doesn't want to subscribe to some shit-ass cable service, or have to be tethered to a cable box. I don't sit around and "dedicate" time to watch DVDs either... Sometimes I just like to have the TV on in the background while I do other things... The way McCloud is on right now as I type this. It's also the way I find new things to enjoy, not just buying things I've already heard of.

Plenty of people facing tough times and lost jobs right now, so I don't have much use for guaranteeing a revenue stream for a bunch of cable-companies and Chinese crap manufacturers looking to fill landfills with functional products.

I'm not going to cry if digital takes off, but I'll probably enjoy a good chuckle if the whole bomb blows up in the government-mandated face.:thmbsp:

I know the feeling, myself, I'm going through rough times, being unemployed for a while but I did find a good job delivering auto parts. Auto parts and mechanics are doing quite well, people are keeping their old cars. Still, I have to crawl out of the hole. I also do free lance web design, I want to get out of the business but a few people depend on me so I keep it on life support. A lot of times I don't have time for DVD's either so many times I have my ATSC box turned on using a Commodore 1702 monitor as a TV in the computer room. It's nice to have RTN on, I like McCloud, Air Wolf and so on. BTW, it seems like three quarters of the shows, were produced or made by Donald Bellasario, Glen Larson or both, it should be called the Bellasario/Larson Channel but I still love it. :) I see shows there I haven't seen in a while, I always loved "Voyagers!"

Why should Cleveland be any different from any other city in the country where DTV subchannels are concerned? Where is it written that Cleveland cannot have subchannel programming on its existing seven TV channels? I have lived in northeastern Ohio my entire life, and have never heard of any such statute.

IMHO, there should be no restrictions in Cleveland as to what subchannels can be piggybacked onto the city's existing stations' main signals. Cleveland should have the opportunity to have DTV subchannels if the stations agree to it and can afford it. The city has been made fun of and maligned far too much already in the last 40 years (and it continues to this day). Keeping its TV stations from having DTV subchannels when other cities, yes, including Detroit, has had them for some time, doesn't make sense to me.

I honestly don't know where you get your information. How do you know so much about Cleveland television, anyway, when you live in Michigan?

:scratch2: Did you live in the Cleveland/northeast Ohio area and/or work in TV in the area at one time?

The lack of RTN and other subchannels on Cleveland's commercial TV channels will, IMHO, just boost the sales of DVDs and DVD players in northeastern Ohio, as more viewers turn to DVDs to watch their favorite old classic shows. I am just about ready to downgrade my cable service to basic myself (I currently have Time Warner expanded basic cable), watching DVDs for other programming. As it is, I watch very little broadcast TV these days, instead watching DVDs of the old shows of the '70s I grew up with; in fact, I have a small collection of DVDs and VHS tapes of such programs as Quincy, Kojak, The Odd Couple, and more (I am adding more DVDs from time to time as well). I don't think I would miss the extra channels in the expanded basic package at all.
<snip>

Sheeeesh . . . Good grief.



The Cleveland TV stations are regular visitors to Southeast Michigan during the summer. Troposperic refraction develops easily over Lake Erie, and the high terrain of Parma is close enough the lake that nothing in Cleveland Proper disrupts the path.
I would say that WEWS-DT (the most reliable) is in more than half of the time from May through early September.

I've also observed the subchannels of all the Cleveland stations using my portable DTV rig. I go to Richfield on a almost-monthly basis (has to do with another hobby I have).


The "dictate" would have nothing to do with the FCC, and would take the form of a "gentlemens' agreement" (in ironic euphemism) between various media interests. Exactly who would not want subchannels in Cleveland, I can't specualte.