Random Thoughts and Updates
Well, the dog days of summer are upon us. Not much going on in the TV and Radio world. I quick glance at sites like Satelliteguys and the Montgomery AVS forums tell me that it’s not just MTR that is slow. Here are my random thoughts and updates for the summer so far:
-My son and I met my wife for lunch at Varsity BBQ today. To my surprise, WLWI and The Country Network had crews there. Some cover band was playing too. It seems that TCN is going around town doing promotional spots. Varsity is trying to get something going too. Maybe MTR should host a concert or something. Nah, that costs too much money. Anyone have any cheap ideas to help promote our little web site?
-Frazier’s over-the-air signal is back! I’m glad the good folks over at Frazier got this channel back up and running.
-Disney, Disney XD, ABC Family and ESPNNEWS HD are still missing from Dish Network. Don’t expect these back any time soon. The law suit has a long way to go and I don’t think either side is willing to negotiate. We’re hearing hints that other cable providers may soon drop these channels as well. Disney wants way too much money for the HD feeds. I’m still contemplating moving my service from Dish to DirecTV once the locals are up.
-We’re still hearing that DirecTV locals will go live in October.
-Anyone heard a peep out of Brighthouse, Charter or Knology for more HD lately? The silence is deafening.
-People seem to be pleased with the move of Rick and Bubba to WLWI. I hope Y102 brings something different to the table in the mornings.
-The Tiger and the Eagle have officially swapped places. What are your thoughts?
-I’m working on a story on how to get a MyNetworkTV affiliate from Montgomery. Hopefully the antenna companies I reached out to will be so kind as to donate the equipment we need to test our theory and show you how to get MyNetworkTV in your home.
That’s all for now. It’s hot outside. Stay cool. What TV and Radio thoughts do you have right now? Please comment on my deep thoughts . . . I mean random thoughts. (Sorry, had an SNL flashback) We hope you have a great summer and we thank you for your continued support. Don’t forget to tell all of your friends in our area about this site and to “like” us on Facebook.
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Finally! After almost a year and a half since Montgomery locals were turned up on Direct. Picture quality is great. ...
Anything on the rumor that WSFA will stop producing news for WCOV?
I just wish Charter could keep the HD channels that we have on the air. Right now HGTV and Food Network are off.
I just wish Charter could keep the HD channels that we have now, on the air. Right now HGTV and Food Network HD are off.
Satelliteguys and the Montgomery AVS forums … what are the links to those? please share!
If this happens, would WCOV leave news again? I doubt they’ll get their own news team with them being a Fox affiliate in a small market.
I have an idea to mix it up – how about a “Best of Montgomery TV/Radio” vote? Best TV station, best radio station, best news reporter, best weather reporter, best sports reporter, etc.??
Hadn’t heard that about WSFA and WCOV. Seems like they both are benefiting from that arrangement right now. I like the idea on the best of votes. We will work on that!
Links to the websites I mentioned are in on our “links” tab http://www.montgomerytvandradio.com/links We don’t provide a direct link to the AVS site Montgomery forum because they are our main competitor for TV forums. However, you’ll be able to find the local Montgomery forum with a quick search. It’s a pretty dead forum though. I post from time to time. I got banned but used my mad legal skills to get reactivated. Satelliteguys is the bellweather for all things TV. Its a great site and I highly recommend it. You may have noticed that it is a source for most of my HD updates.
I’ll check with WCOV on the rumor. I highly doubt it is true.
I can tell you that I haven’t heard about any change in WSFA producing our news. They’re a great news station and let’s face it, everyone loves news one hour earlier! Sorry to burst the rumor’s bubble for now. I’ll keep everyone posted on changes, like Dr. Oz at 10!
Thanks,
Drew Woods
Thanks for the update Drew. I was just about to email you about this. The HD newscast looks great.
The Eagle’s swap to 95.9 sucks. I can’t pick up the signal anywhere in Prattville or Montgomery worth a flip as several other stations are bleeding over. Refresh my memory, exactly what was the reasoning for switching?
RE Knology and HD programming (HA!):
I email regularly to a VP @ Knology HQ in Georgia, complaining about the lack of significant HD channels.
He has “defended” their lineup for the past two years telling me that their infrastructure in Mtgy is “at capacity.” Sure. It’s loaded with junk like shopping channels in HD, Disney HD, and other worthless tripe.
So in the midst of our ongoing exchange about why Knology has *dropped* channels such as Golf Channel in HD, and while this VP is reminding me again that there’s no more room for HD offerings, they add MLB in HD.
ZZzzz…..
What a snore!
Bottom line: Knology is too cheap to expand their meager system in Montgomery, and things are never going to improve anytime soon. At best, they’ll be swapping one HD channel for another, as far as I can determine.
Robert, when did Knology add MLB HD? We no longer have an insider updating us on Knology HD additions. (Not that there are many) Would you email us any time a channel is added so we can report it? It really is pathetic that Knology can’t add more cpacity for HD in our area.
Jason, I’ll be glad to let you know when there are changes in Knology offerings. (I speculate it won’t be often!) It’s much more difficult to keep track of the *deletions* — unless a channel I specifically watch on a regular basis disappears in the dead of night, I have no way of knowing Knolo dropped it.
And yes, using one’s own built-in limitations on infrastructure as the “excuse” one cannot improve service is ridiculous, i.e., “We can’t add more channels ’cause we won’t spend the money to build a bigger system so we could add more channels. Sorry, our hands are tied.” Duh.
Is angela green back at channel 8? She anchored last night at 10.
She is still listed in her private sector position on their web site…she is not on the waka.com web site either. I sent an email to see what the story is about her anchoring the news on Sunday evening.
Thanks Robert!
MTR is looking for guest bloggers. If anyone with a passion, knowledge and/or expertise for radio and/or TV is interested in blogging on our site please contact me at jason@montgomerytvandradio.com or Brian Harris at brian@montgomerytvandradio.com. We’re also looking for guest bloggers who will help moderate our forums and assist in getting them more active. In your email to us tell us what your area of knowledge or expertise is and a little bit about your self.
Angela Green is not back. Just free lancing to help out. Confirmed.
I wish she’d come back…they only 3 reporters now.
Rumor alert! Dish is set to launch a very popular channel in HD today. We don’t know what it is yet but we’ll keep you posted.