For PBS, Ottawa get WPBS Watertown now. I think I remember reading somewhere that WPBS paid to get their HD signal to Rogers for Ottawa. So it likely is not changing

Didn't Ottawa originally receive the Rochester affilliates?

Did the switch to Detroit happen because Ottawa retailers were advertising on the Rochester stations?

Probably the most significant impact for Ottawa cable viewers will be NFL games, as CBS and FOX don’t show the same games across the US, and the games carried on the Detroit and Buffalo affiliates sometimes differ.

(Adding a plug for 506sports.com, which has been documenting this for almost 20 years)

Last edited by MJ Vancouver (August 21, 2024 1:58 pm)

The original US channels in Ottawa were WPTZ Plattsburgh (NBC) , WWNY Watertown (all three networks at that time,but mostly CBS), and I believe the west end may have had a Syracuse channel.
WPTZ was unwatchable most of the time.  WWNY had a sales office in Ottawa that did quite well, especially with Sunday afternoon hockey.  In the mid 70s WPBS was added from the Norwood, NY transmitter and WUTR, Utica was also added from a rebroadcaster in Northern NY, perhaps Massens.  It was an ABC affiliate.
They were later replaced by three Rochester channels that were brought in by microwave,  When FOX got the NFC rights there was a FOX channel available but I can't remember if it was from Rochester or Buffalo.  They were later replaced by Detroit, however WPBS Watertown is still the primary PBS station.  During pledge drives they have a graphic that says Canadian funds at par.
Years ago I heard that 60 per cent of their funds came from Canada with 40 per cent of that number from Ottawa.
 

Ale Ont wrote:

The original US channels in Ottawa were WPTZ Plattsburgh (NBC) , WWNY Watertown (all three networks at that time,but mostly CBS), and I believe the west end may have had a Syracuse channel.
WPTZ was unwatchable most of the time.  WWNY had a sales office in Ottawa that did quite well, especially with Sunday afternoon hockey.  In the mid 70s WPBS was added from the Norwood, NY transmitter and WUTR, Utica was also added from a rebroadcaster in Northern NY, perhaps Massens.  It was an ABC affiliate.
They were later replaced by three Rochester channels that were brought in by microwave,  When FOX got the NFC rights there was a FOX channel available but I can't remember if it was from Rochester or Buffalo.  They were later replaced by Detroit, however WPBS Watertown is still the primary PBS station.  During pledge drives they have a graphic that says Canadian funds at par.
Years ago I heard that 60 per cent of their funds came from Canada with 40 per cent of that number from Ottawa.
 

I would concur about the Canadian support of PBS. Burlington/Plattsburgh relies on Montreal, Buffalo needs Toronto, Spokane gets help from Calgary/Edmonton and Vancouver assists Seattle. Perhaps Erie gets some donations from London viewers.

zed wrote:

That is correct, WQLN initiated and paid for a direct feed to London.  I believe they identify as  Erie/ London. 
 

Looking at the Rogers TV guide for London on TV Passport. It appears that WNED Buffalo and WTVS Detroit is also carried in London on Rogers Ignite along with Erie's WQLN. So you can say that London gets 3 PBS stations from Erie, Buffalo and Detroit.

haydenmatthews14 wrote:

zed wrote:

That is correct, WQLN initiated and paid for a direct feed to London.  I believe they identify as  Erie/ London. 
 

Looking at the Rogers TV guide for London on TV Passport. It appears that WNED Buffalo and WTVS Detroit is also carried in London on Rogers Ignite along with Erie's WQLN. So you can say that London gets 3 PBS stations from Erie, Buffalo and Detroit.

If you had the U.S. timeshifting feature, you would get a fourth from Seattle. I get Buffalo, Detroit and Seattle.

mic'em wrote:

I get the US networks from Boston via Sunwire in the Greater Sudbury area. 

I was staying at a hotel in Georgetown in Halton Hills this past summer and the TV service provider I don't know what it was. But whatever TV service it had carried the Boston stations. Every hotel I stayed at in the GTA has the Buffalo stations.

When my parents got Star Choice satellite in 2003, they had a choice of Detroit or Buffalo [except FOX was Rochester not Buffalo] for the east coast feed and Seattle or Spokane for the west coast feed.