Kids protest gas prices when cable is cut
National News: This story has definitely caught my attention. Two Salt Lake City kids are learning about the impact of higher gas prices when their mom had to eliminate cable TV from the already tight family budget. The two sisters (7 and 9) decided to vent their frustration over losing their favorite cartoons by protesting the rising fuel costs with picket signs in hand. In times like this, it really does make you realize what you can and cannot do without in a budget. Like many business, both cable and satellite TV services could feel the impact of some subscribers having to eliminate pay TV from the family budget in order to have gas in the car to get to work or the grocery store. Perhaps, it could bring a renaissance of over the air TV antennas back to homes or apartments across America. Let's not forget that this renaissance would have a new addition with TV converter boxes available in order to watch free TV. It might be time to order your $40.00 government converter box coupons in order to lessen the cost of up to 2 boxes per household. Would you make a one time purchase by investing in an indoor or outdoor antenna? What are your thoughts about going back to free TV. Please let us know here at PBRTV.Readers’ Forum
I will have no choice. It would appear we will purchase boxes for over-the-air viewing as neither Anne nor I have time to do much cable surfing at home. (I save that for my mother-in-law’s family room.) However, I did see a rather quaint rooftop aerial at a guest house at Thiel College in Greenville. I wonder if that school might consider the boxes, or if Greenville is too far from any TV markets to make that worthwhile.
Pat Cloonan (URL) - June 25, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Actually, Greenville should be able to get all of the Youngstown local stations & possibly even some Erie, Cleveland & Pittsburgh stations.
Tom Lavery (URL) - June 26, 2008 at 05:53 am
What are your thoughts about going back to free TV?
There can be no going back if you’ve never left in the first place. I do not pay for television.
Troy - June 26, 2008 at 08:23 am
I’ve been hearing the same stories too, I might be facing some same issues too. Why feed the “cable pig” when you need to buy gas, food and so on to live. At least with HDTV, depending on the market you live in, you might have more choices to watch like Retro TV Network (RTN), ION or extra PBS channels. I know Comcast carries RTN but why should I pay extra if I can get it over the air for free? I just took a converter box and rabbit ears, hook it up into the line output of the VCR we use as a cable tuner and off we go. It is also good in case if cable goes down, we can switch to over the air TV right away. Predicting the future is difficult but perhaps if this continues, either cable companies will drop their prices and/or you might see some cable TV stations that have commericials go the free TV route piggyback on some HDTV station. I know reception is a problem in outlying areas, you need a big TV antenna or some translator stations, HDTV Still has bugs to work out in coverage, but I have to embrace the future, the FCC didn’t give us a choice.
P.S. – I sent this before but I’m not sure if I typed my name in or not or if the system remembered my name. If my first message is OK, please ignore this one. Thanks.
Charles D. Mandus - June 26, 2008 at 10:51 am
Charles – I always feel that it is important to have an over the air backup to my satellite service. One is for weather or other emergencies and two for more football games than what I get from the Erie market alone. It’s definitely important for this Steelers fan when Buffalo blacks out the Steelers on WSEE. Hopefully the bugs will get worked out but I do not have too many complaints other than getting Pittsburgh stations better than I do sometimes. (Of course, I am about an hour and a half away from there.) How is the reception where you are at Troy & do you have a converter box yet?
Tom Lavery (URL) - June 26, 2008 at 11:25 am
Never mind the last question I asked Troy. I see that you do have a converter box.
Tom Lavery (URL) - June 26, 2008 at 11:30 am
Tom – Yes, that’s my thinking too, it is good to have a backup in case if we lose cable and/or drop it due to financial reasons. I have a total of three boxes, got an extra one for the TV in the computer room, a 1964 Sony black and white. Although the main set, an 1982 Zenith 25 inch console, is on cable, I have a box feeding the VCR through RCA jacks (the VCR is used an an analogue tuner for cable) for just in case we lose cable and when we want to watch RTN. Here, in Moon Township, 10 miles west of Pittsburgh, I get 17 channels, the only one missing so far is the CW affiliate but I do get Channel 8 (Johnstown) and 23 (Altoona) on occasion along with 27 out of Youngstown from time to time. I use rabbit ears as antennas, the best set I have is a Rembrandt from 1959. I see you are in Erie, sometimes Channel 27 out of Youngstown carries Steelers but again, the Browns might knock them off there too. With HDTV, too bad they can piggyback the Steelers on a subchannel. I know subchannels do take up bandwidth and might not be hi-def but at least you can still see the game.
Charles D. Mandus - June 27, 2008 at 12:51 pm
I used to be in Erie but moved to Cochranton in late 2005. (Cochranton is near the Mercer county line.) Yeah, WKBN does alternate with the Steelers & Browns. I’m also lucky that I can usually get KDKA DT 25 with my rooftop antenna. I have said that about WSEE DT 16 carrying all 3 teams on sub channels. However, I doubt Directv would like that option. But still it would make sense since Erie is the “Bermuda Triangle” with 3 teams around it and fans of all 3 teams should be able to watch their teams without a blackout.
Tom Lavery (URL) - June 27, 2008 at 1:11 pm
A followup … The cable in Greenville (Time-Warner) regards the Youngstown stations as local, but I believe Fox 53 is in the mix as is KDKA-2. My event didn’t allow a whole lot of time for TV surfing. (Indeed, the first time I was able to sit down to a decent stretch of TV news was an 11 p.m. Channel 2 report memorable for a lengthy look at Pittsburgh’s curfew and sadly for news of Steve Lohle’s passing.)
My biggest beef, in fact, was radio. In a college dorm there, one gets a lot of FM music (and a public station from Kent State University if memory serves me correctly) but the only AM with any sort of signal was WGRP-940, which now runs classic country, as well as the Pirates, though I did manage to strain in WKBN-570 during an Indians broadcast.
I was surprised not to be able to get WPIC-790 or, frankly, anyone that offered a decent local newscast that didn’t require turning the volume sky high and straining through what was at least concrete interference.
(I even pulled in WPIC in North Irwin when a high school team I follow was playing a Mercer County area team in a state playoff game, adding to my surprise.)
By the way, Tom, I actually have two other focal points for TV viewing in your neck of the woods, with relatives in Franklin and an in-law (as well as two college-student relatives) in New Wilmington.
Pat Cloonan (URL) - July 01, 2008 at 09:49 am
Pat – Did the dorm room have a window? I know that C. Crane sells AM antennas that works great as long as a window is available in such a room. I have an old Radio Shack model that works great for AM radio. (Despite what my wife says, There are definitely a few good stations left on the AM side of the dial.) I know that WKSU from Kent State broadcasts at 89.7 but my guess is that you were getting one of their powerful translators WKSV at 89.1 from Thompson, Ohio. I can usually get that signal in Meadville which is right next to a WQLN translator at 89.3.
Tom Lavery (URL) - July 01, 2008 at 11:24 am
After about a month of waiting since I placed the order, I finally got 2 new (both different models) converter boxes online from Digital Edge (They were swamped with orders and even subbed a different model than the one I ordered). I am happy to report . . . .that the new boxes made ZERO difference. I can still only pick up 4 channels at my Crawford County house (Erie market, still can’t get Fox or ABC) and at my Pittsburgh house I still can’t get ABC. The more expensive converter boxes have a few different bells and whistles than the cheap box I bought at “Sprawl Mart,” but as far as reception goes, there is no difference!!!!!!!!
Troy - August 15, 2008 at 08:04 am
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