Re: Hub TV in Western Mass....

[Brian Anastasi <anastasi@javanet.com>]

Out here on the cable system in Amherst, we get two affiliates of each of
the three networks.  For CBS we get the Hartford (Channel 3) and Boston
(Channel 4) affiliates, for ABC we get the Springfield (Channel 40) and
Boston (Channel 5) affiliates, and for NBC we get the Springfield (Channel
22) and Boston (Channel 7) affiliates.  Out of those three "local"
affiliates (Springfield and Hartford), only one - Channel 22, the
Springfield NBC affiliate - exercises their "must carry" rights.  In other
words, we get all of the NBC programming from the Channel 22 feed,
presumably so that we get all of the local ads on two spots on the dial.
Only when there is REGULARLY SCHEDULED local programming, such as from 11:00
to 11:35 every weekday evening, do we get to see the programs from WHDH
Channel 7, the Boston ABC affiliate.  This was a very BIG problem after the
events of September 11th, as we were denied the wall-to-wall news coverage
from Channel 7 in Boston, where two of the three planes took off.  I called
AT&T Broadband and my local cable committee about a thousand times to
complain, and
finally on Friday afternoon (it happened on a Tuesday, if you remember), we
got Channel 7 24 hours a day.  But it only lasted about a week, if I
remember correctly. To my mind, that sort of an occurrence was endangering
our public safety out here in western Mass., and is the sort of thing  the
Congressman should be complaining about.

----- Original Message -----
From: "A. Joseph Ross" <lawyer@attorneyross.com>
To: "Mark Laurence" <mlaurence@mindspring.com>
Cc: <boston-radio-interest@bostonradio.org>
Sent: Friday, November 30, 2001 1:16 AM
Subject: Re: Hub TV in Western Mass....


> On 29 Nov 2001 at 1:41, Mark Laurence wrote:
>
> > A western Mass. lawmaker wants to force local cable companies to carry
> > Boston TV stations, because he says the local stations don't air enough
> > news to protect the safety of his constituents.  Specifically they
didn't
> > carry a speech by Acting Gov. Swift in the beginning of October.
>
> The issue is that the "local" stations are in Connecticut and New York and
aren't really that local.
> I wonder whether the cable TV laws might permit local cable companies to
carry Boston stations
> under those circumstances.  Or might permit them to carry Boston stations
for those programs
> which the "local" stations don't carry, such as sports events or local
news programs.
>
> I would have thought, however, that the acting governor's speech might
have been carried on
> cable news channels such as NECN and thus been accessible to Western Mass
in that way.
>
>
>
> ===========================================================
>  A. Joseph Ross, J.D.                                         617.367.0468
>   15 Court Square, Suite 210                      lawyer@attorneyross.com
>  Boston, MA 02108-2503                    http://www.attorneyross.com
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>