Waivers for network television on satellite?

[CoolBreeze]

A friend of mine just posted this to her very popular blog. Is this widely known? Because I (along with a few friends who could use this) didn't know.

Network television!!!!! In my house! One more battle won against adversity in the boonies! If you were reading this blog back in March when we moved in, you might remember the entire series of obstacles involved, from finding water to getting television reception. Surrounded by hills, an hour from the nearest city, there is no way to get TV here other than by satellite. (No cable. No DSL. No “rabbit ear” reception.) We had two different satellite companies out here. Both told us the same sad story–local network television is sent on a lower satellite than “cable” satellite channels. The hill behind our house prevents reception from that lower satellite. We were able to connect to the higher satellite, receiving channels like CNN, TLC, HGTV, etc. But no ABC, NBC, CBS, or Fox. Unless we wanted to cut down a swath of trees off the hillside behind our house. While I have been interested in cutting down a select handful of trees in front of our house to improve our view, cutting down a swath of trees from the hill behind the house was not in my dreams.

If you live in an area where local network reception is unavailable for geographic reasons, you can apply to your “local” networks for a waiver to allow you to receive satellite network channels from either Los Angeles or New York. These channels–Fox, ABCE(east) or ABCW(west), CBSE or CBSW, NBCE or NBCW are carried on that higher satellite along with other “cable” satellite channels like HGTV and CNN. But your “local” networks (for us, that means the network stations in Charleston) have to agree and give you a waiver. The way they see it, if you receive your network channels out of New York or Los Angeles, they are losing the advertising dollars that come with their viewership numbers to their local stations. Our waiver request was denied, and so for seven months I’ve been watching a lot of HGTV, CNN, or nothing at all.

However! They had a change of heart. Or something. Who knows. Seven months later….. we have satellite networks from New York! Desperate Housewives, Good Morning, America, Today, Oprah, Boston Legal, and American Idol, oh how I have missed you!

I will also be completely up-to-date on all the local weather and news in New York City, so if you’re wondering how things are going in the Big Apple, just holler.

[Big Media]

Waivers are almost always denied by policy because the burden of proof is on the consumer. Typically, in order to get a waiver, you must live in a white area zip code (or at least make your service address a white area zip code) or you must have the network station signals tested using very strict parameters, such as a recently calibrated signal scout or spectrum analyzer, antenna 30 feet off the ground, RG11 cable (who uses RG11 anymore?) and other ridiculous measures.

Your friend must have been relocated to a white area zip code based on the Longly Rice averages now used for DTV signal predictions. The satellite providers have updated their signal predictions using DTV and gone are the old analog predictions. This means a whole sloth of new customers who were not considered white area before, are now in white areas based on these new predictions. Some customers, however, are getting their networks grandfathered because they are no longer in a white area based on the DTV predictions.

[CoolBreeze]

She moved about 2 miles. But both homes are so far out in the country that you have to pipe in sunshine. She lives WAY out in the woods (Stringtown) between Walton & Spencer WV.