Many of these channels carried programming from major network television affiliates.[4]
Equity Broadcasting used one Ku-band (Galaxy 18, 123?W) and one C-band satellite feed as a key part of its Equity C.A.S.H. centralcasting operation; many small UHF local stations were fed from one central point in Little Rock, Arkansas via free-to-air satellite. Most were members of secondary terrestrial networks, including both US English language and Spanish language broadcasters, and content from satellite broadcasts often fed over-the-air digital subchannels of terrestrial stations. Programming such as the Retro Television Network or Retro Jams had been provided at various times; music video broadcasters Mas M?sica and The Tube were formerly available at 123?W before being taken over (Mas M?sica is now MTV3) or ceasing operations.
Similarly, unencrypted Ku band satellite television was also used temporarily in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina as a means to feed NBC programming into New Orleans from the studios of an out-of-state broadcaster; the feeds contained the content, branding and station identification of the damaged New Orleans station in a form suitable for direct feed to a transmitter (with no further studio processing) in the target market.
Paradoxically, many Equity-owned local UHF stations obtained solid national satellite coverage despite small terrestrial LPTV footprints that barely covered their nominal home communities. In many cases, this brought smaller networks and Spanish-language broadcasting to communities which otherwise would have no free access to this content.
As television market statistics for these stations from firms such as Nielsen Media Research are based on counting viewership within the footprint of the corresponding terrestrial signal, television ratings severely underestimated or failed to estimate the number of households receiving programming such as Univisi?n from FTA satellite feeds. The liquidation of Equity Broadcasting's station group in mid-2009 greatly reduced the number of US terrestrial stations available from Ku-band free-to-air satellite; while a very small handful of uplinked terrestrial stations remain free (mostly on C-band, which requires a much larger antenna) these are from other, independent sources.
Equity Broadcasting used one Ku-band (Galaxy 18, 123?W) and one C-band satellite feed as a key part of its Equity C.A.S.H. centralcasting operation; many small UHF local stations were fed from one central point in Little Rock, Arkansas via free-to-air satellite. Most were members of secondary terrestrial networks, including both US English language and Spanish language broadcasters, and content from satellite broadcasts often fed over-the-air digital subchannels of terrestrial stations. Programming such as the Retro Television Network or Retro Jams had been provided at various times; music video broadcasters Mas M?sica and The Tube were formerly available at 123?W before being taken over (Mas M?sica is now MTV3) or ceasing operations.
Similarly, unencrypted Ku band satellite television was also used temporarily in the aftermath of 2005's Hurricane Katrina as a means to feed NBC programming into New Orleans from the studios of an out-of-state broadcaster; the feeds contained the content, branding and station identification of the damaged New Orleans station in a form suitable for direct feed to a transmitter (with no further studio processing) in the target market.
Paradoxically, many Equity-owned local UHF stations obtained solid national satellite coverage despite small terrestrial LPTV footprints that barely covered their nominal home communities. In many cases, this brought smaller networks and Spanish-language broadcasting to communities which otherwise would have no free access to this content.
As television market statistics for these stations from firms such as Nielsen Media Research are based on counting viewership within the footprint of the corresponding terrestrial signal, television ratings severely underestimated or failed to estimate the number of households receiving programming such as Univisi?n from FTA satellite feeds. The liquidation of Equity Broadcasting's station group in mid-2009 greatly reduced the number of US terrestrial stations available from Ku-band free-to-air satellite; while a very small handful of uplinked terrestrial stations remain free (mostly on C-band, which requires a much larger antenna) these are from other, independent sources.