TV Worth Blogging
by David Thiel, Program Director for WILL-TV
An insider's view of public television programming and the issues that help determine what and how you watch
Update: Comcast in Bloomington
This morning, we began to receive calls from Comcast cable customers in the Bloomington, IL area who reported that they were no longer able to receive WILL-TV. We've investigated the situation, and here's what we know:
WILL-TV no longer appears on the analog tier of Comcast's service in and around Bloomington/Normal. We are still available to Comcast customers who receive digital service, typically through a set-top box. According to Comcast's own estimate, this change currently affects about 20% of their subscribers, those who have not yet upgraded to digital cable.
To continue to receive WILL-TV, those customers will need to exercise one of two options:
1) Upgrade to digital cable. According to a Comcast spokesperson, they will be offering free installation of set-top boxes, and no additional charge for the first 12 months. Please contact your local Comcast office for more information.
2) Receive our free, over-the-air signal. Our digital broadcast offers crystal-clear HD programs (when available) and three different channels. You may need a digital converter box and/or a better antenna. Read our DTV FAQ for more information.
So, why the change? Read on...
Some time ago, PBS worked out an agreement with the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (which represents Comcast, among other cable providers) to ensure that public TV stations would continue to be carried on their systems once the U.S. completed its transition to digital-only television. The end product attempted to serve both the interests of PBS' member stations, which wanted carriage of all of their multicast channels; and the cable industry, which was understandably concerned about using scarce bandwidth on potentially duplicative program services.
The PBS/NCTA carriage agreement allows a cable company to designate one public TV station in each market as the “primary” service. Comcast has decided that WILL is the primary PBS station in Champaign-Urbana/Springfield/Decatur, and that WTVP (out of Peoria) is the primary in Bloomington/Normal. The primary PBS station is guaranteed full carriage of all of its digital channels. Furthermore, that station's main channel is offered on the cable system's analog tier.
Any PBS station that did not receive this primary status was required to make a choice:
Option #1: Analog-only carriage. The cable company would carry only our main channel (12.1), and it would be a "down-converted," standard-definition, analog signal. On the plus side, this channel would be available to all cable subscribers, even those who have not yet made the switch to digital service. On the minus side, none of our shows would be in high-definition, and none of our multicast channels would be available, even for those customers receiving digital cable.
Option #2: Digital carriage. All of our digital channels would be carried—in HD, as available—but we would have no presence on the analog-only tier. One of the factors in our consideration was that a sizeable majority (about 80%) of Comcast customers in Bloomington already have digital service. Another was that analog service will not be maintained in the long run; like it or not, all cable customers will have to upgrade within the next two to three years. If we’d selected analog-only carriage, we would’ve been stuck with that choice until Comcast entirely discontinued its analog service.
Ultimately, we went with the digital option. We know that it means that some viewers will be temporarily unable to receive our programming, and we are truly sorry for that. Over the long run, however, it means that we are able to offer our full suite of digital channels and HD programs to as wide an audience as possible. If you have any questions, or want help receiving over-the-air signals, please contact us.
Thanks, David, for posting this. I still got lost halfway through it, though. I have an analog TV and cable through Comcast. Why was I cut off from WILL last Thursday? I was repeatedly told on numerous stations for months that if I already had cable service I wouldn’t need to do anything, that I’d be able to see all my old channels. I’ve been fuming since last week over this and am still irate that the station that I watch over 50% of the time was cut off without any prior notice. I even checked out Dish TV and Direct TV—no dice.
I suppose there’s any easy answer, but I hope it doesn’t require me to spend a load of money on a new TV. Mine isn’t HD but the picture is fine for me.
The situation with cable providers such as Comcast is, like many other aspects of the digital TV conversion, fairly complicated.
The upshot is that Comcast has the option to designate one PBS in each area as a “primary” station. For Bloomington, Comcast selected WTVP out of Peoria. WTVP will receive carriage on both their analog and digital services. (You’re subscribing to their analog service.)
Since we’re not the “primary” station (according to Comcast) WILL has to choose between being carried on EITHER their analog or digital service. We selected digital carriage, because it means that Comcast will pick up all three of our channels, and will air our high-definition programming in true HD.
The “easy answer” is that to continue to receive WILL-TV, you will need to make one of the two choices that I highlighted in bold text at the top of this post: either subscribe to digital cable, or receive our over-the-air digital signal via a converter box. Neither requires you to buy a new TV.
Again, if you need help receiving a digital broadcast signal, please contact our Engineering department here at WILL, as they are best equipped to talk you through it.
Thanks, it’s starting to make sense. I’ve been checking this out since yesterday’s rant and found I indeed subscribe to Comcast’s analog service. So, I’ll switch to the digital service soon. I’m going nuts without “Last of the Summer Wine” and “Are You Being Served?!”
I appreciate your help.
back to the main {blog_title} page
Post a comment on this entry: