What's going on with Subchannels in Portland, Maine

I recently received an email from Dave who asked the following:

"I was just wondering if there was any news out there of what the stations are gonna do. I heard about these DTV only networks like RTN and .2 and so on. Any news if any Maine stations are gonna pick those up or anything else?" After a few exchanges, I wrote the following (which has been aggregated) and thought it would be a great addition to this blog.

As far as I know there is not anything new official going on for subchannels with the exception of things I already know about like Weather Plus on NBC (Channel 6 Portland), and News Now on ABC (Channel 8 Portland) and the Maine Visitors Channel on MyNetowork (Channel 35 Portland - actually a pretty cool self-produced subchannel). Only Channel 13 (CBS Portland WGME) hasn't decided what to do. They were supposed to run a Music Channel on 13.2 but that deal fell through. They, along with Fox 23, and CW (Channel 51) would have space for a subchannel like RTN, but I haven't heard anything yet. I'm going to ask my contacts though, because I like the idea. It's better than those Maine Auto King infomercials which drive me CRAZY. Channels already using at least one subchannel won't have enough bandwidth to operate an a third channel. Thanks for bringing it to my attention as something I need to follow up on. I'm going to poke around and see if I can some up with any inside track "news".

I checked with one source I have at one of the network affiliate stations in Portland. He told me something that, after he said it, made perfect sense. The decision as to what is going to be done with their subchannel is dependent solely upon what their parent company and the network says. Due to issues of branding and making sure their affiliates are basically clones of each other, it would be in their best interest to decide on subchannel programming at the corporate level. For example, on WCSH Channel 6 they use Weather Plus on their subchannel. The same is true for Channel 7 in Boston, Channel 30 in Hartford, etc, All of the NBC affiliates are doing the same thing with their subchannel.

Keep in mind that most channels are using their primary channel for digital and/or high definition programming which, because of bandwidth issues, only leaves them with enough room for one other standard definition broadcast. Technically, each station could broadcast up to 4 programs simultaneously, but if they did, each would have to be in standard definition. There is one station I know in my area that is part of the ION network (see Wikipedia) that does this but very, very few Cable companies would even carry the primary channel let alone the subchannels. In addition, the same problem exists for all TV stations using subchannels; they still have to get the cable channels to carry it if they really want to get a return on their investment. Unless there is a revolution where consumers all convert back to "over the air" broadcasting (no cable or satellite), most of these subchannels will never be seen.

Now, when it comes to networks like the CW or MyNetwork, they operate more independently. As I mentioned Channel 35, part of the MyNetwork network, produces and broadcasts their own original programming on channel 35.2 called Maine Visitors Channel (MVC). RTN would be great for someone like the CW Channel 51 or even Fox 23 who may not have finalized plans yet for their subchannel(s). Or if MyNetwork Channel 35 doesn't get the revenue they expect from MVC. MVC was designed to be broadcast to all of the hotels in the Portland area. Channel 35 actually invested in, and installed, digital receivers in the hotels with whom they have agreements so that guests of the hotel could receive MVC in their rooms (which probably all have old analog sets).

So, that's my take on Subchannels in the Portland/Lewiston/Auburn television market. I'd love to hear from anyone who has more info or questions on this topic.