Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ in Comcast Cable TV http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r17285693 en Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:54:36 EDT Wed, 25 Nov 2009 06:54:36 EDT Re: Now Channel 57 analog removed in South Jersey? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17521265 rhm5757 : 57's broadcast signal was out (at least) last night, so any cable system picking it up OTA was getting nothing.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17521265 Mon, 25 Dec 2006 12:33:04 EDT Re: Now Channel 57 analog removed in South Jersey? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17520583 BobMagee5 : Now as soon as I posted that...after three days, figured it had been pulled; 57 appeared this morning on the analog sets in our house. Is that a coincidence, was there some sort of signal problem with 57's analog signal, or has there been a stink raised by more legislators regarding pulling analog signals of over-the-air stations?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17520583 Mon, 25 Dec 2006 07:36:45 EDT Now Channel 57 analog removed in South Jersey? http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17520568 BobMagee5 : Seems they've also dropped WPSG-57 from our analog cable in South Jersey.

While it's not a major deal in my house, since we only have one set in our dining room/kitchen and one in the master bedroom that have analog...the rest are digital box; there was no announcement made to subscribers about the switch.

That'll go over well to those who watch the occasional Phillies or Flyers game offered on Channel 57.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17520568 Mon, 25 Dec 2006 07:20:22 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17463848 CRP : Well the removal of WCAU 10 from the Comcast systems in Ocean County back on November 15, has generated more publicity, this time in the Asbury Park Press. Below is a link to the article.

»www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/articl···/OPINION

Edit: While I was going through the Asbury Park Press article that I linked above, I noticed two factual inaccuracies. The first one being that whoever wrote this article cited KYW instead of WCAU as the Philadelphia NBC O&O station, when in fact KYW is the Philadelphia CBS O&O station. Also it stated that the channel was dropped from the lineup on November 5 at around 10 PM, when in fact it wasn't dropped until after midnight on November 15. Someone wasn't fact checking and making sure that all the information that they had was accurate. :)
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Comcast of Ocean County (Brick)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17463848 Fri, 15 Dec 2006 12:22:04 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17460981 TurboDan : Most of the NYC stations do not even show radar images south of northern Ocean County.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17460981 Thu, 14 Dec 2006 21:59:25 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17460494 actor90 : The legislative team of Connors, Connors, and Rumpf of the 9th legislative district of New Jersey are voicing their displeasure over Comcast's removal of channel 10 WCAU from analog cable in Ocean County, NJ. A quote from the article »www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news···32c.html today in the Press of Atlantic City.
said by Sen. Leonard T. Connors from Press of Atlantic City :
The 9th District's Sen. Leonard T. Connors Jr. and Assemblymen Christopher J. Connors and Brian E. Rumpf said many constituents have complained about the change and that they are considering legislation to address the issue.

“More than just a consumer issue, this is a matter directly related to public safety,” said Sen. Connors in a press release. “Philadelphia stations would be more likely to show weather reports affecting the Jersey Shore area as opposed to New York stations. It has been proven, time and again, that early warnings are critical for residents, municipalities and emergency personnel to prepare for adverse and threatening weather conditions.”


Sen. Connors is 100% correct. This isn't just an entertainment issue, this is a safety issue.
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My Blog on blogspot.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17460494 Thu, 14 Dec 2006 20:31:59 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17291921 Steely :
said by PGHammer See Profile :

Both stations are NBC owned and operated; so it had to be with the explicit consent of NBC. In fact, it may have been at the *request* of NBC...
In addition to my initial phone conversation with a CSR rep stationed in Eatontown, NJ, I've had detailed e-mail correspondence with two "Comcast Customer Care Specialists" and all three have stated or implied that the decision to remove WCAU and WNBC from analog in the respective outside market areas was one made by Comcast as a first or early step in transitioning to all-digital. While NBC or the respective local stations may have consented, I didn't get the impression they had initiated these changes.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17291921 Fri, 17 Nov 2006 08:23:26 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17291839 PGHammer : Both stations are NBC owned and operated; so it had to be with the explicit consent of NBC. In fact, it may have been at the *request* of NBC, as that most programming (likely pretty much *all* non-local programming) was duplicated on the two stations. This is similar to the infamous *syndex* rule, and (unfortunately) makes sense.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17291839 Fri, 17 Nov 2006 07:49:54 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17290868 Steely : I think they wouldn't do that (it would be for channel 4 in my area) because right now they want to maintain some kind of consistency between the analog and digital channel assignments where they overlap below channel 100 or so. Once analog goes away completely it wouldn't matter, although I doubt they'd move them back anyway. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17290868 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 23:47:27 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17290483 TurboDan : Err, because it's annoying to have to tune to 253 to get channel 10, especially when there's nothing mapped to 10 anyway?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17290483 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 22:38:02 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17288943 Steely : Why would that matter?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17288943 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 18:30:02 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17286308 TurboDan : Another quick question - why can't they just map WCAU to channel 10 on digital boxes, as they did for a few days before the switch anyway?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17286308 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:58:15 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17286295 TurboDan : UPDATE... actually HUGE UPDATE!

Through a professional contact, I've been in touch with someone at NJBPU. (Board of Public Utilities) It was absolutely NOT the decision of WNBC or WCAU to do this. That has been CONFIRMED.

He said NJBPU was "forced" to approve Comcast's decision because Mercer is in the Philly DMA and Ocean is in the NYC DMA.

I will quote the final line of his message to me, which should give us hope...

quote:
Would you like to know what Verizon will be doing when they launch video in various NJ communities before Christmas? I'm heading up the technical review and I'd love to tell you, but its proprietary and I'm sworn to secrecy - sorry!
]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17286295 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 10:55:47 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285889 celeritypc :
said by Steely See Profile :

The first steps to finding a solution do not necessarily involve the purchase and installation of expensive and cumbersome roof antennas and rotors. There are other avenues to pursue before going to that extreme. People in the affected area are calling and writing to various agencies including Comcast and the respective NBC channels. Although it may not have the desired effect, I think that's a sensible start.
You are correct. If you are unhappy with the change, you should contact the respective parties involved (Comcast, WCAU, WNBC, etc.) It seems that several issues are driving this with the problem that people seem to want to have their cake and eat it too.

1. Ocean is in the NYC DMA and Mercer is in Philly. Because of this, cable companies are only required to negotiate for the in-market OTAs. Adjacent market OTAs are optional, not mandatory.

2. A majority of the programming on the channels is duplicated. WCAU and WNBC pretty much have the same programming, especially the network portion.

3. Cable subscribers are demanding new services and channels while the cable companies have bandwidth constraints.

4. All OTA is moving to digital transmission by 2010, thus requiring a digital box of some sort for non-cable subscribers.

5. In the case of Comcast, they are not eliminating the duplicate network, just moving it to digital (my guess is that it is available with enhanced basic or limited basic with a digital box.)

6. At this time, it only applies to NBC. If it is indeed a Comcast decision, it was made with the implicit consent of NBC. I'm sure NBC got something out of the deal. It is possible that NBC wanted to up the amount Comcast had to pay for the out of market channel and placing it on digital was a compromise from dropping it completely.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285889 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:35:32 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285762 Steely : Just because people may not know how to respond effectively in this situation doesn't mean they don't deserve to receive the channels.

The first steps to finding a solution do not necessarily involve the purchase and installation of expensive and cumbersome roof antennas and rotors. There are other avenues to pursue before going to that extreme. People in the affected area are calling and writing to various agencies including Comcast and the respective NBC channels. Although it may not have the desired effect, I think that's a sensible start. ]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285762 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 09:02:02 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285708 mbernste :
said by Steely See Profile :

In the old days folks in central NJ desiring to receive the maximum amount of channels would mount quality antennas on their roofs and then rotate them either mechanically or manually as needed for optimum reception. Nobody's going to do that now.
Well, if the people affected are unwilling to take matters into their own hands and implement their own solution, they deserve to not receive the channels.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285708 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:48:15 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285693 Steely :
said by mbernste See Profile :

There's always another option. If you can't afford digital cable (and many can't), go back to rabbit ears until the FCC mandated digital switchover.
Although in theory your suggestion is a decent one, the problem with using rabbit ears is that many of the affected areas (parts of Mercer and Ocean counties, for example) are far enough from NYC, Philly or both that OTA reception would be challenging at the very least. In the old days folks in central NJ desiring to receive the maximum amount of channels would mount quality antennas on their roofs and then rotate them either mechanically or manually as needed for optimum reception. Nobody's going to do that now.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285693 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 08:46:13 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285296 mbernste : There's always another option. If you can't afford digital cable (and many can't), go back to rabbit ears until the FCC mandated digital switchover. When that happens, Comcast will most likely be giving out, free of charge, the DCT-1700 digital cable box.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17285296 Thu, 16 Nov 2006 05:27:41 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17280702 TurboDan : Well, I've done a little snooping around.

Turns out FiOS in Maryland not only is offering both sets of locals (DC and Balt) on analog, but they offer the HD feeds of BOTH sets of locals! Someone mentioned on here that Verizon will be carrying both sets of locals here, so I'm sure we can expect both HDs as well.

Can't wait 'til 2007!]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17280702 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 13:53:17 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17279958 CRP : WCAU went off around 1 AM this morning down here on my system (Comcast of Ocean County). If it was 100% Comcast's decision, I think that a better channel could of been chosen to be moved to digital. So far this year they've removed CMT, ESPN Classic & GSN from analog cable, all channels that you could argue, have viewership but aren't necessarily the most popular among most subscribers. WCAU however was a channel that I and many others watched significantly down here and it's an absolute shame that it was removed from analog. What's next the local PEG channels?
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Comcast of Ocean County (Brick)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17279958 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 11:52:27 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17279239 cypherstream : I wonder why they didn't pick a different channel to move to digital? What else do you guys have on analog that you'd be able to see moving to digital? I know they need to make room for future services, but an OTA geeze, I thought that would fall under FCC must carry rules. We have loads of OTA available on basic cable because the FCC says so.

Don't you guys have something better to move? (Shopping channels, CMT, Game Show, Hallmark, Court TV, Speed Channel, Golf Channel, EWTN, Discovery Health, MTV2- are some of the most common ones to move to digital).]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17279239 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 09:46:48 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278739 Steely : I watched live as they "pulled the plug" on WNBC channel 4 on both analog and digital just after 2 AM this morning. The screen of solid "snow" on the analog set hit me like a direct slap in the face. I promptly composed an appropriate e-mail and zinged it off to Comcast.

To my surprise, a reply was already in my mailbox when I arrived back at the computer at 7:30 AM. (I'd post it, but it came complete with a warning about "unauthorized use or dissemination" of the message.)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278739 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 07:42:53 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278631 CRP : Well WCAU is gone from analog cable on Comcast of Ocean County (Brick, Pt. Pleasant, Bay Head & Mantoloking). Let the complaints come in.
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Comcast of Ocean County (Brick)]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17278631 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 06:44:25 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277884 Steely : Anyone interested can follow the links in my other posts:

»Re: Comcast Central New jersey Removes wnbc new york]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17277884 Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:28:40 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275698 actor90 : This is a separate issue from the WNBC removal. This is WCAU.]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17275698 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 18:12:53 EDT Re: Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17273220 celeritypc : How many threads are we going to have on this subject?]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17273220 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 10:56:24 EDT Comcast removing WCAU from analog in Ocean County, NJ http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17272404 actor90 : As of tomorrow November 15, 2006 Comcast of Toms River, NJ is removing channel 10 WCAU the Philadelphia NBC station from the analog line up to channel 253 which requires a Digital box to receive it. Since the beginning of cable here in Ocean County we have always gotten both the Philadelphia and New York stations because our area covers a large territory which includes people from the New York area to the north and people from the Philadelphia area to the south. Comcast has decided to break a 30 year tradition by moving a Philadelphia station off the air for the elderly and people on fixed incomes who can not afford digital cable.

They are even running a scroll on channel 10 telling people if they want to continue receiving it, they will need to subscribe to a digital package. My area has a large number of senior citizens who are on fixed incomes and only subscribe to the lowest tier of service which includes mostly the broadcast channels. Receiving broadcast channels here by antenna is hit or miss because we are on the shore and far from most television towers.

Comcast is trying to force more money out of those least able to afford it. I can understand moving cable networks to digital, but taking broadcast channels from those that only ask for that in their service, and forcing them into an unwanted, more expensive tier of service is a crime.


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My Blog on blogspot.com]]> http://www.dslreports.com/forum/remark,17272404 Tue, 14 Nov 2006 07:14:13 EDT