The Southern Ontario/WNY Radio-TV Forum / Rogers Cable Ottawa US Feeds Change

**Posted by haydenmatthews14** August 21, 2024 11:29 am

I did not know until now that Rogers Cable customers in Ottawa are getting changes of the ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX from Buffalo NY replacing the Detroit stations. It did not mention that PBS station would change from Detroit to the Buffalo. So Rogers Cable customers in Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener/Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford and Hamilton get the Buffalo stations. But in London Rogers Cable carries the Detroit stations and the PBS station WQLN from Erie PA. I wonder in the near future if they will replace the Detroit stations with the Buffalo stations like what they did to Ottawa this past July.

Last edited by haydenmatthews14 (August 21, 2024 11:30 am)

**Posted by andysradio** August 21, 2024 11:48 am

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

**Posted by RadioAaron** August 21, 2024 12:00 pm

Yeah, traditionally Ottawa donations floated WPBS. Don't know if that's still the case.

**Posted by mace** August 21, 2024 12:37 pm

Didn't Ottawa originally receive the Rochester affilliates?

**Posted by RadioAaron** August 21, 2024 1:30 pm

mace wrote:
Didn't Ottawa originally receive the Rochester affilliates?

Yep (except for PBS)

**Posted by mace** August 21, 2024 1:46 pm

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

**Posted by MJ Vancouver** August 21, 2024 1:51 pm

RadioAaron wrote:
mace wrote:
Didn't Ottawa originally receive the Rochester affilliates?
Yep (except for PBS)

They also received WWNY Watertown years ago.

**Posted by MJ Vancouver** August 21, 2024 1:55 pm

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)

**Posted by mace** August 21, 2024 2:07 pm

MJ Vancouver wrote:
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)

Indeed they do. Particularly in the 1pm window. Buffalo gets Bills, Jets. Dolphins and Jets. Detroit receives Lions, Packers, Bears and Vikings. The duplication comes in the DH 4:25pm slot.

**Posted by Ale Ont** August 21, 2024 3:17 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.

**Posted by rk12** August 21, 2024 5:19 pm

The Rochester stations were dropped because they were no longer available via satellite.

**Posted by mace** August 21, 2024 5:24 pm

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.

**Posted by zed** August 21, 2024 5:32 pm

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

Last edited by zed (August 21, 2024 5:32 pm)

**Posted by haydenmatthews14** September 8, 2024 11:51 am

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.

**Posted by mic'em** September 9, 2024 6:41 am

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

**Posted by mace** September 9, 2024 7:13 am

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.

**Posted by haydenmatthews14** September 9, 2024 10:50 am

mace wrote:
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.

I have the timeshift package that includes the Seattle stations. I forgot about that thank you.

**Posted by haydenmatthews14** September 9, 2024 12:20 pm

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.

**Posted by fybush** September 15, 2024 9:19 pm

rk12 wrote:
The Rochester stations were dropped because they were no longer available via satellite.

The Rochester stations (aside from WUHF) have never been available to Canada via satellite. There was a receive site somewhere around Deseronto on the Canadian side where 8/10/13 from Rochester were picked up over the air and piped by microwave up to Ottawa.

**Posted by mace** September 16, 2024 5:21 am

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.