Latest from Next TV in Green-bay-packers

Sen. Tammy Baldwin Revives Packers TV Access Act

john.eggerton@futurenet.com (John Eggerton) — Wed, 07 Sep 2022 12:12:27 +0000

It's pro football season, which means legislators will once again try to ensure that their constituents in pay TV markets where out-of-state TV stations are retransmitted can get an in-state version for that all-important local news — and perhaps even more important local NFL team.

Some TV markets cross state lines, which means that the designated local station for a market — and the one cable and satellite operators are most likely retransmitting per the FCC's must-carry/retransmission consent rules — is not in the same state as some viewers in that market.

Such is the case for 13 counties representing almost a half-million people in Wisconsin that are assigned to stations in Minnesota and Michigan.

Also: Capitol Hill Is Ready for Some Football

Facing the prospect of once again getting Detroit Lions or Minnesota Vikings games but not their beloved Green Bay Packers, football watchers in those counties have a champion in Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), who has reintroduced her Go Pack Go Act.

The bill requires cable and satellite providers to give their Wisconsin subscribers access to programming on Wisconsin stations so that they can get their local news and their Packers fix. ■

What's On This Weekend in TV Sports (Jan. 23-Jan. 24)

thomas.umstead@futurenet.com (R. Thomas Umstead) — Sat, 23 Jan 2021 03:07:14 +0000

Two National Football League championship games and Conor McGregor’s return to the UFC mixed martials arts octagon highlight this weekend’s TV sports events.

This Sunday the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will face the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship game on Fox and the Buffalo Bills will meet the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship contest on NBC. The winners will meet in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7.

On Saturday, former UFC champion McGregor will meet Dustin Poirier in the UFC 257 pay-per-view event on ESPN+. The match, a rematch of a 2014 bout in which McGregor defeated Poirier, marks McGregor’s first appearance in the octagon since defeating Donald Cerrone last January in UFC 246. ESPN will offer coverage of the UFC 257 preliminary fights leading up to the PPV event.

NBC on Sunday takes to the ice to televise the Detroit Red Wings-Chicago Blackhawks NHL game, while CBS will televise the Professional Bull Riding’s Pendleton Whisky Invitational championship.

NBC and the Golf Channel will air weekend coverage of the first Ladies PGA Tour event of the year from Florida. Golf Channel will air coverage of the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions Friday through Sunday, while NBC will offer Saturday and Sunday afternoon coverage of the LPGA event.

Locast Touts 2.3 Million Registered Users

daniel.frankel@futurenet.com (Daniel Frankel) — Fri, 15 Jan 2021 19:18:00 +0000

Locast said that it has surpassed 2.3 million registered users for its nonprofit streaming service that provides local broadcast channels to consumers.

The service, which operates on voluntary donations of $5 and above from its users, also announced expansion into Madison, Wisconsin, ahead of Saturday’s big NFL playoff matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Los Angeles Rams, which will be broadcast by FOX.

The expansion opens Locast up to 650,000 additional homes.

Locast delivers more than 30 local TV channels in the Madison designated market area (DMA), including WISC-TV CBS News 3, WMTV NBC 15, WKOW ABC Ch. 27, WMSN FOX Ch. 47, PBS Wisconsin and PBS Kids as well as CourtTV, AntennaTV, The CW, Bounce, Movies!, LAFF, Mystery, Grit, ION, CometTV, True Crime, Charge! and Azteca America.

Locast is accessible to viewers in 11 counties in the Madison DMA including Columbia, Dane, Grant, Green, Iowa, Juneau, Lafayette, Marquette, Richland, Rock, and Sauk.

Also Read: Locast: Everything You Need to Know About the Streaming Platform Some Are Calling ‘Aereo 2’

Asked about the overall Locast business model, a company rep said only a small portion of registered users are donating at this point. However, donations have been robust enough to allow the service, founded by attorney and consumer advocate David Goodfriend and his Sports Fans Coalition, to keep expanding to its 26th market.

“I was born and raised in Madison and graduated from Madison West High School and Beloit College,” said Goodfriend, in a statement. “I volunteered at the local NBC and PBS affiliates as a teenager. So launching Locast in my hometown means a lot to me personally.”

Goodfriend has declared Locast’s business model of streaming the broadcast feeds of local stations to consumers legal under the Copyright Act of 1976. He was unavailable Friday to update Next TV on the state of Locast’s ongoing legal battle with the major broadcasters.

News-Press Stations Back on DirecTV, U-Verse

Mike Farrell — Sun, 22 Jan 2017 14:50:00 +0000

News-Press Gazette said it has reached a retransmission consent agreement that will return its 18 television stations to AT&T U-verse and DirecTV customers, in time for the latest round of the NFL playoffs.

The stations, which went dark on Jan. 13, were returned on Saturday night, according to both companies. On its website, NPG said that a deal had been reached and thanked its viewers for their support.

In a brief statement AT&T said a deal had been reached Saturday night and hat the stations were returning to the customers. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The stations included NBC, ABC, Fox and CBS affiliates in St. Joseph, Mo. (KNPG-NBC); Salinas, Calif. (KION-CBS); Palm Springs,, Calif. (KDFX-Fox) and Bend, Ore. (KFXO-Fox).

The agreement also comes in time for DirecTV and U-verse viewers in those areas to catch the National Football League’s NFC Championship game this afternoon at 3:05 p.m. (EST) between the Green Bay Packers and the Atlanta Falcons on Fox, as well as tonight’s AFC Championship pitting the New England Patriots vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers at 6:40 p.m. (EST) on CBS.

NBCU, Charter Extend Talks

Mike Farrell — Sun, 01 Jan 2017 01:12:00 +0000

NBC Universal said it has extended negotiations with Charter Communications as the deadline drew closer for its existing carriage deals to expire.

“Negotiations with Charter Spectrum for the NBC Universal portfolio of networks have been extended,” NBCU said in a statement Saturday. “We will continue to negotiate in good faith so that Charter Spectrum customers can continue to receive NBCUniversal’s valuable networks and we hope to be able to reach a deal.”

NBCU began warning Charter customers Dec. 29 that its carriage deals for its broadcast stations and cable channels like Bravo, USA Network and Syfy, were set to expire at 11:59 p.m. on Dec. 31. In a statement Thursday, NBCU had said Charter was “unyielding” in its demands for terms similar to larger operators.

Charter has about 17 million video customers across the country. NBCU did not say how long the talks have been extended, but it is expected to at least be long enough for viewers to see NBC’s Sunday Night Football contest between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions (the winner takes the NFC North crown). Sunday also is the date for the NHL Centennial Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. On Monday, the St. Louis Blues and Chicago Blackhawks meet in the NHL Winter Classic, while for non-sports fans there is the Tournament of Roses Parade.

NFL Network Brings Back Super Bowl I Broadcast

jon.lafayette@futurenet.com (Jon Lafayette) — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 17:30:00 +0000

The NFL Network on Jan. 15 plans to show the Green Bay Packers playing the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I for the first time since 1967.

NBC and CBS were the original broadcasters of the game, and both networks had lost or recorded over tapes of the broadcast.

NFL Films spent months searching its archives, from more than a dozen sources, to find all 145 Super Bowl I plays and recreate the entire game.