Fremantle launching game show digital channel

[snowpeck]

This is precisely the sort of thing people could be lobbying your local stations to pick up -- if, of course, you can receive their subchannels. 

I feel like it's worth pointing out there's ~50 affiliates that will need content when they get around to closing down LiveWell.

A big chunk of them have already made plans. The ABC O&Os are going with Laff TV (and keeping LiveWell around indefinitely with a loop of repeats.) And some of the other station groups have made announcements too.

[PYLdude]

Locally, Comcast customers DO get the subchannels, so I'm told, but I've heard of cable systems where they're not offered.  So it's a bit of a crapshoot at the local cable level.  I'm fortunate that I invested in a decent antenna in addition to my satellite package, so subchannels aren't a problem.  Still way too early to know whether I'll get Buzzr or not.

Verizon offers subchannels in Pittsburgh. They're all in the upper 400's, but they aren't all represented, and certainly not the FOX ones.

They are in New York, to the best of my knowledge. Our Fox affiliate's only digital subchannel is the Movies! channel and that's there (the other two are SD feeds of the duopoly stations, and Verizon already offers those as is, so I don't quite see the point). We also have Cozi TV from our NBC, two LiveWell feeds from our ABC (for now), Antenna and This from our CW, and Bounce from our MNTV (which also has MundoFox, but I believe we have that as an over the air affiliate anyway so there's no need).

[That Don Guy]

Locally, Comcast customers DO get the subchannels, so I'm told

They do - at least, I did when I had Comcast up until about three years ago (including things like the ABC station's 24/7 weather channel).

[aaron sica]

This is most likely a pipe dream, but WZME in the NYC market is an OTA channel, not a subchannel, that carries MeTV programming. IIRC, aren't they losing the MeTV affiliation to that new channel 3? I wonder if they would pick up BuzzR to replace MeTV when they lose it..

[trainman]

This is most likely a pipe dream, but WZME in the NYC market is an OTA channel, not a subchannel, that carries MeTV programming. IIRC, aren't they losing the MeTV affiliation to that new channel 3? I wonder if they would pick up BuzzR to replace MeTV when they lose it..

Presumably, WNYW's contract to broadcast Buzzr (as one of the Fox O&O's) would not allow that.

[PYLdude]

This is most likely a pipe dream, but WZME in the NYC market is an OTA channel, not a subchannel, that carries MeTV programming. IIRC, aren't they losing the MeTV affiliation to that new channel 3? I wonder if they would pick up BuzzR to replace MeTV when they lose it..

They're not going to lose the affiliation, from what I gathered. WZME only served New York's need for a Me affiliate (and before that a RetroTV affiliate) because they didn't have one. WZME is based in Connecticut and no station in its market area (southern CT) has Me as even a digital subchannel, so they're going to become MeTV Connecticut at some point. WJLP brands itself as MeTV New Jersey/New York, FTR.

Sidenote: WZME and WJLP do not carry the same schedule. For instance, WJLP carries part of the network's early morning lineup (6-9am). WZME doesn't carry any of it.

[aaron sica]

Good points, Chris and Jim. At this point I'm hoping one of the stations in my home market (Harrisburg) will get it, then. WGAL *just* replaced ThisTV with MeTV around the new year. WLYH had LiveWell on their subchannel and replaced it with GRIT, so that's out. WHP has MyTV on one subchannel, WHTM has RetroTV on one and Weather on the other, and WPMT has news on one and AntennaTV on the other. The only other commercial station is WGCB, which doesn't get much carriage, subchannel or otherwise.

[Fedya]

It could be worse.  Albany's Fox station recently replaced its subchannel, a country music channel, with Off-Track Betting.

Of course, I live at the edge of the broadcast area, so it's often hit or miss whether I get anything but the NBC channel over the air.

[TLEberle]

It could be worse.  Albany's Fox station recently replaced its subchannel, a country music channel, with Off-Track Betting.

For various definitions of worse, sure.

[Scrabbleship]

It could be worse.  Albany's Fox station recently replaced its subchannel, a country music channel, with Off-Track Betting.

For various definitions of worse, sure.

Horse Racing in that area in Serious Business because Saratoga. And the options for subs in that market are wide open.

[Fedya]

Saratoga is seven weeks (I think) a year.

Although I do remember my uncle taking me to an OTB once when I was a kid (this would have been the late 1970s) and finding it a creepy place.

[jimlangefan]

According to this article in Variety, Buzzr TV's expected launch date is May 31st.

http://variety.com/2015/digital/news/fremantlemedia-hits-on-buzzr-youtube-channel-with-classic-game-show-reboots-1201429965/

[dale_grass]

One of the screengrabs in that article showed a guy without a beard.  I'm crying foul.

[pacdude]

All told, on YouTube in 2014, FremantleMedia content was viewed about 9 billion times. About half of that was of content uploaded by users, without the company’s permission; FremantleMedia used YouTube’s Content ID system to generate ad revenue from that.

Quoted for discussion.

[JayDLewis]

Using the PSY Metric (approx 1/3 of a cent per view), FremantleMedia earned in the neighborhood of $30 million.

For doing nothing. (aside from keeping their lawyers at bay)