KLSB to be new Tyler, TX CBS
 

KLSB (TV-19, DT-18) Nacogdoches, TX currently has a CP to move their tranmitter closer to Tyler. According to http://www.vartv.com/, they will sign on as a new CBS affiliate 1Q2004. The Tyler DMA is currently w/o a CBS. KLSB is currently simulasting NBC KETK-56 for Lufkin and Nacogdoches.

:// Virginia Beach based media company to acquire TV station

Max Media of Virginia Beach is acquiring television station "NBC 19" KLSB Nacogdoches TX from Cobb Corporation. The station is located in the 107th largest TV market - Tyler-Longview-Lufkin-Nacogdoches TX. At the same time, the CBS network has announced that it has signed a long-term agreement with the station. KLSB is scheduled to become a CBS Television Network affiliate during the first quarter of 2004. Max Media has been on a buying binge recently sucking up TV and radio stations in smaller markets. They have a radio station cluster in NE NC with Hot AC "Beach 104" WCXL/104.1, NewsRadio 560 WGAI, Country WQDK/99.3 and "Water Country 94.5" WWOC.... (10/21/03)

More about this here.

From reading the article, it looks like they will switch to CBS affiliation within the next couple of months, but will continue to broadcast from their tower in Nacogdoches until later this year. This means that CBS will not be available OTA in Tyler or Longview until the new tower is finished. Maybe they will work out a deal with the local cable sytems and Dish to have the signal from Nacogdoches carried in the interim.

UPDATE on CBS 19--To be KYTX
 

Some updates since the initial story on KLSB turning to CBS......

KLSB has applied for new call letters, if approved by FCC they will become KYTX-TV.

The CBS 19 website is up....somewhat. They plan to call themselves "The Eye of East Texas", their logo is up, but with "COMING SOON" underneath it. You can find it at http://www.cbs19.tv

I drive by their new studio, on the way to work, each day. Their signs are up, the satellite and STL tower pads have been poured, and their satellite dish under construction.

Their DTV channel is 18, and I certainly hope they go on the air at full power and not pull this 1kw least-to-get-by scheme that far too many stations are doing.

You had mentioned that you couldn't recieve KLSB/KYTX OTA in Tyler/Longview until the new tower was up....

You could recieve it in Tyler, if you have a powerful antenna......Back in the days when we used to have just KLTV, and later KLMG (The CBS station out of Longview that was the predecessor of KFXK FOX 51) my family used to point our antenna in Frankston in any direction....one way brought us the stations from Shreveport and the otherway (most frequently used) brought us Dallas. We could get KLSB and KTRE mostly clearly.

Perhaps the KLSB move will eventually lead to all current Lufkin-Nacadoghes (sp?) stations being moved to Tyler or Longview and make Tyler-Longview and Lufkin-Nacadoghes just one big happy market. But then again if that were to happen, what would become of KTRE, or KFXL-LP?

I have no doubt that you could receive KLSB and KTRE in Frankston with a large, directional antenna. Frankston is quite a bit closer to Nacogdoches than Tyler, maybe 50 miles as the crow flies. KLSB currently broadcasts with relatively low power for a UHF, around 700 kW I believe. As a comparison, KETK and KFXK both broadcast at near FCC limits, which is 5000 kW. With their current transmitter, grade B coverage for KLSB in Tyler and Longview is impossible.

KFXL-LP is simply a translator for KFXK in Lufkin. Nacogdoches is about the southern limit of KFXK's grade B signal. Also, I don't forsee KTRE moving north. KLTV's transmitter is too far north of Tyler to cover Nac and Lufkin, so I think that any move by KTRE would have to be accompanied by a move south by KLTV. This would cause a loss of KLTV coverage in the northern part of the market, like Mt. Pleasant/Sulphur Springs/Winnsboro.

Here's what I would like to see happen - KCEB 54 is now on the air at 5000 kW with UPN. I am not sure what the coverage is like in Tyler, but they have a city grade signal in Longview. The old LP UPN stations, KLPN 58 and KTPN 48 are still transmitting, but their signals are redundant. I wish that CBS-19 could work out a deal with Television of East Texas to use 58 and 48 as translators for Longview and Tyler until the new CBS-19 tower is operational.

But, I guess that would make too much sense! :p

54 has good coverage in Tyler. Too bad, however, the programming brains at 51/56 cannot be more creative than UPN simulcasted on 48/54/58!

Update - according to TitanTV.com, 19 will begin airing CBS programming on Monday, 12 April.

No word yet on the estimated completion date of the new tower near New Summerfield. We have to assume that it is still sometime this summer.

I suspect that Dish probably will not carry them until the new tower is complete. I think that the POP is in Tyler, and the current transmitter in Lufkin/Nac cannot get a signal to the POP.

The 1600 foot tower is about 300 feet tall, as of yesterday. It is located on CR4303 just outside of Ponta, Texas. I doubt they will be ready to transmit from that site by April 12th.

Once CBS is on the air here, would anyone be interested in our own PBS outlet?

Well, that's good news. At least they have started construction. Probably at least 2 months away from being operational. I believe that KETK-56 will also be broadcasting from the new tower, along with both digital channels 18 and 22.

I don't see this area being able to support it's own PBS. It would have to be operated by a consortium of some of the local colleges, like UT-Tyler, TJC, KC, etc. I think a more likely scenario is that KERA Dallas would put a either a translator or full-power satellite station in Tyler. Also, KERA is offered on most cable systems in the area, and Dish provides it as part of the Tyler locals package. And, KLTS Shreveport has a good grade B signal into most of Longview.

As a side, there apparently is an application for a new channel 14 in Tyler. Any word if or when this station might become a reality? WB would be nice, although they have had in the past a policy that they do not place broadcast affiliates in markets 100 and below (we are 107). This is why we have a cable-only WB affiliate.

Update - On Sunday 4 April, Longview and Kilgore Cable Television has a half-page ad in the Longview News-Journal explaining that, on 12 April, they will drop KTVT CBS 11 Dallas, and begin carrying KYTX CBS-19. KTVT is being dropped by the request of KYTX.

Additionally, CBS-19 has an agreement in place with KTVT to simulcast KTVT's newscasts until their local newscasts begin airing in September.

Greg,

The channel 14 application you refer to was dismissed Jul 2 2001. I would be happy to
trade KERA for LPB, any day. However, you are probably right, since CATV and the
DBS companies have such deep market penetration, a local PBS outlet is not likely.

I am not a cable customer but I would have thought KSLA would have a better claim over Longview than KTVT.

KSLA does have a grade b signal over Longview. Most people can get it via antenna or cable, so simulcasting their news, IMHO, would be redundant. KSLA news also has a tendancy to ignore East Texas. Those people in Shreveport think they are cajuns! Heck, you know what real cajuns call people from Shreveport? Yankees!

Since CBS-19 is really being targeted to Tyler, they have a closer relationship to Dallas than Shreveport. And Dish customers in Tyler that are outside of KSLA's coverage already get KTVT as their CBS.

I have noticed the KSLA weather map shows Longview in Smith County. Obviously
someone over there did not do well in Geography.

As of Monday morning, 12 April, KYTX CBS-19 is up and running with the new website at http://www.cbs19.tv. Longview Cable has placed them on channel 11 and removed KTVT from channel 26. They currently have some audio and video problems, but I suspect they are tweaking things in.

I cannot get KYTX OTA, so cannot confirm what is actually broadcasting from the Nacogdoches transmitter.

DishNetwork will begin streaming CBS 19 on July 1. Until then DishNetwork customers are eligible to receive Distant Local CBS from Dallas/Ft. Worth.

I am assuming that this July 1 date is contingent upon the new tower becoming operational. From their current tower, KYTX cannot get a signal to the Dish Network POP in Tyler.

Not all Dish customers in the Tyler DMA are eligible for KTVT. Viewers in Longview cannot get KTVT or any CBS as they are in the grade B contour of KSLA Shreveport.

If DishNetwork does not have an agreement with CBS from Sheveport they will offer you a distant CBS.

No. By SHVIA rules, you cannot import a distant network (big 4 - ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX) into an area that is in the grade B contour of another station. This is why, before Tyler locals were offered on Dish, viewers in Longview could not get any local or distant networks.

As the rules are written, KSLA would have to grant a waiver to allow viewers in their coverage area to get a distant CBS.

That's funny. I had all those stations when I lived in Longview, same ones I have now in Tyler.

Sigh. It's really very simple.

Longview is in the Tyler DMA, therefore, viewers in Longview qualify for the Tyler locals package which is currently consists of ABC, NBC, Fox, and PBS from Dallas.

Longview is in grade B or better of the following stations:

KTBS-3 Shreveport ABC
KTAL-6 Shreveport NBC
KLTV-7 Tyler ABC
KSLA-12 Shreveport CBS
KYTX-19 Nacogdoches CBS (when new tower is operational)
KLTS-24 Shreveport PBS (only eastern half of Gregg County)
KMSS-33 Shreveport Fox
KSHV-45 Shreveport WB (only eastern half of Gregg County)
KFXK-51 Longview Fox
KCEB-54 Longview UPN
KETK-56 Jacksonville NBC

If, you are in the grade B contour of KSLA Shreveport, which most if not all of Longview is, then you are NOT eligible for a distant CBS. If you are outside KSLA grade B, which Tyler is, you are eligible for a distant CBS, which by default is KTVT Dallas.

When KYTX CBS-19 goes up on Dish, supposedly July 1, viewers in Longview will be able to receive it in the Tyler locals package. Viewers in Tyler will have to give up KTVT and replace it with KYTX.

Now, if you are tellling me that you received KTVT on Dish while living in Longview then one of the following is true:

1. You are mistaken.
2. Dish made a mistake during the qualification process.
3. You lived in the far south-western edge of Longview, which possibly is outside of KSLA's grade B.
4. You used an alternate service address to qualify for locals.

My address in NE Gregg County and my parents' address in west Longview have never qualified for any distant channels except PBS.

Well, DishNetwork must have made a mistake then... because I had it, without an antenna, and I am not mistaken. I also did not live in the far Southwest area.

Fair enough :)

[quote=gbranch]If, you are in the grade B contour of KSLA Shreveport, which most if not all of Longview is, then you are NOT eligible for a distant CBS. If you are outside KSLA grade B, which Tyler is, you are eligible for a distant CBS, which by default is KTVT Dallas.

Thank you for your thoughtful and ACCURATE postings, but there is more to the story...

According to the FCC, if you are in a grade B contour, and cannot get a signal (like most of Longview), you can request a signal strength test, at DISH's cost; if the signal you receive is below 64dHb(?), then DISH must offer a distant feed, and NO WAIVER IS REQUIRED.

The problem is DISH refuses to do these tests and erroneously claims you must have a waiver first, which is ridiculous because if you had the waiver, a signal test wouldn't be necessary.

KSLA has refused ALL waiver requests from DISH subscribers; (they don't even have the courtesy to respond to calls and letters). It seems it is a political thing because DISH was carrying KTVT's feed instead of KSLA.

We were Direct TV subscribers and switched to DISH with the lure of local channels, even though we were receiving
ALL networks with distant east AND west coast feeds. No one told us that excluded CBS!!! (Not a wise move on our part.) We live in Longview and cannot receive ANY CBS feed, even with an antenna. We've been battling with DISH since February without success. KTVT says we don't need a waiver; DISH says we do; KSLA refuses to respond. The FCC said to request the signal test and file a complaint. DISH refuses to comply. The FCC called last week to tell me about Channel 19. They said DISH was going to call, but they haven't (they never do). The FCC again confirmed the info about the signal test, but with the coming of Channel 19, we both agreed it wasn't worth pursuing.

Jack S.

IIRC, the theoretical limit of KSLA's grade B goes as far west as Gladewater. Most areas in Longview _can_ receive KSLA via an outdoor antenna. However, there are holes in town where any OTA reception is difficult, so I am not disputing your claim that you cannot get KSLA. I have lived in several locations in Longview and have never had any problems getting KSLA. At my current location in rural NE Gregg County, I am 45 miles from the Shreveport transmitters and can get the Shreveport stations better than Tyler-Longview.

It is not Dish's responsibility to run the tests. The FCC, in their infinite wisdom, made a provision in SHVA (or SHVIA) for signal testing. However, they did not specify who is to run the tests. They simply state that the provider and the station are to agree on a qualified person to run the tests. This is where the process usually stalls, either because the provider and the station don't communicate with one another, or they can't agree on the tester.

This is typical of most stations. They feel that they "own" a viewer because of a theoretical signal contour. The problem is that they have the very powerful NAB to back them up. IMHO, a station should not be allowed exclusivity in an area that is not in their DMA. I can buy a Dallas newspaper here. Why can I not watch a Dallas television station?

Jack, all of the politics involved between the FCC, NAB, Nielsen, local stations, and Dish and Direct will result in one thing - the viewer will always get screwed. There is a loophole and an easy way around all of this BS. Simply "move" to Dallas by changing your service address, thus qualifying for Dallas local channels. There are also areas in Anderson County around Palestine that are in the DFW DMA, but also qualifiy for distant networks.

Or wait until July 1 for CBS-19 to come online. Good luck.

KYTX CBS-19 is now up and running from their new tower near Ponta. Viewers in Tyler and Longview should now be able to receive them OTA.

Target date was July 1. Maybe they are in a testing phase, but I am impressed that they were able to get the new tower online 3 weeks early.

I saw the digital up Thursday night, 10 June, and the analogue signal followed the next day. The HD looks very good but the analogue suffers from ghosting at my location, about 30 miles north of their transmitter site. There is a low power station still on the air on channel 20, maybe with its departure 19-0 will improve.

Good bye KSLA!

I am about 50 miles from the transmitter, so the analog picture is OK, a little bit snowy at times, comparable to KETK. I still get a better picture on KSLA, as I am only 45 miles from their tower in Moringsport. I have also noticed that they are not yet broadcasting MTS stereo on the analog channel. I hope this is temporary.

I sent an email to Phil Hurley asking about carriage on Dish, and he confirmed that the target date is still July 1.

Lied to again.....
 

Well here it is July 1st and I gleefully turn on the TV to FINALLY get to watch CBS Channel 19 out of Tyler...*sighs* Alas I have been lied to again by DISH although I can now pick up the station on antenna... I hope I win some brownie points somewhere for patience because this has been a long wait since we had DISH installed in January.

So anybody else at DISH you know of I can now holler at now ?? Or are you fresh out of names too ?? LOL


Jack Stanley



Jack, all of the politics involved between the FCC, NAB, Nielsen, local stations, and Dish and Direct will result in one thing - the viewer will always get screwed. There is a loophole and an easy way around all of this BS. Simply "move" to Dallas by changing your service address, thus qualifying for Dallas local channels. There are also areas in Anderson County around Palestine that are in the DFW DMA, but also qualifiy for distant networks.

Or wait until July 1 for CBS-19 to come online. Good luck.[/quote]

TNG Tony's Dish Channel List at http://www.dishchannellist.com confirmed that KYTX was uplinked to channel 8881 on June 23, although not available to subscribers at that time. I personally do not have Tyler locals. Can anyone confirm if KYTX is available yet? The GM at KYTX, Phil Hurley, stated that everything was a go for KYTX on Dish on July 1.

I recommend that you send an email to Phil Hurley at phurley@cbs19.tv. He is a very nice guy and responded to me in less than 24 hours.

It's not available yet. At least I don't see it on the Dish web site. It looks like there may be a problem either technical or legal between Dish and the station or station owners. I don't know for sure.

BTW www.dishchannellist.com should be going away by this time next year. www.dishchannelchart.com (exatly the same thing) is the URL that will stick around for a while.

See ya
Tony

According to DirecTV's website, they have switched from KSLA to the new KYTX.

Info From Dish network
 

I am in the same boat that all of the other residents in Longview are in. I cannot get a CBS and have been trying for 9 months. Anyway, I talked to CBS 19 yesterday and they said they are sending the signal to Dish Network. So I called Dish and FINALLY I was told that CBS 19 would be added Thursday, July 15. However, I am not holding my breath on what Dish says will happen.

I think we DISH subscribers here in Longview deserve a medal for remaining loyal after we were promised a CBS station available July 1st -- then the 15th -- umm it's coming up on August 1st ---- HOW MANY VOTE WE STORM DISH OFFICES & TELL THEM HOW WE REALLY FEEL ?? --- Since it's obvious telephone calls, e-mails etc. have no effect on these people !!!! I've been lied to -- had false promises made & even once got hung up on by DISH -- I've written Phil Hurley -- no help there either....Does ANYONE know what us poor slobs in Longview can do to get some action at DISH ???


Still watching CBS by "crooked rabbit ears & aluminum foil "----


Jack Stanley

Jack,

Have you tried emailing ceo@echostar.com? Supposedly, this address goes directly to Charlie Ergen. I have seen many claims in these forums of people getting action when they use this addy. Tell him that Directv carries CBS19, and that you will switch if Dish doesn't make it available.

FYI, Directv also carries UPN 54/58/48 in the Tyler market. However, they don't carry KERA like Dish does. They carry the PBS National feed, which is a day behind on most programs.

I just ran an address in Tyler, TX and I qualify for Dallas PBS AND the Nat'l one...also KYTX is now listed....weird



Tyler/Longview (Lufkin/Nacogdoches), TX $4.99 Local Channels

$5.99 per month

Station Local Channel Number Dish Channel Number
TYLER ABC-KLTV (LOCALS) 7 8880
TYLER CBS-KYTX (LOCALS) 19 8881
TYLER FOX-KFXK (LOCALS) 51 8883
TYLER NBC-KETK (LOCALS) 56 8882
TYLER PBS (DALLAS) (LOCALS) 59 8886

per another post in the Dish Network forum, CBS is now available for the Tyler market :)

http://www.dbstalk.com/showthread.php?t=31044

The test is not mandatory and the loser pays.

BTW: Tyler now has CBS on E*