On December 16, 2020, concerned Comcast customers who receive broadcast TV stations through Xfinity in one Massachusetts county breathed a sigh of relief. There, Hearst Television‘s biggest station, ABC affiliate WCVB-5 in Boston, was set to be replaced with a Rhode Island ABC affiliate. Among those offering words of frustration: Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey.
It appeared that a fresh retransmission consent arrangement keeping Hearst stations from “neighboring designated market areas” where citizens desired the station more than a closer, albeit out of state, choice was reached.
Now, Comcast has confirmed that “some TV stations” from neighboring markets will “soon no longer be available.”
Xfinity’s channel changes were set to arrive on December 22, and Comcast’s explanation to its subscribers was, “It’s our goal to provide you with the shows and movies you love at a fair price.”
But, that was avoided.
“We have come to an agreement with the owners of these stations that will allow us to offer them in the same manner as we have in the past,” a Comcast spokesperson told TV Answer Man in mid-December. “As a result, these stations will remain on our channel lineup, and we are notifying customers about this update.”
Something happened between December 16 and today.
On March 31, 2021 and April 6, 2021, Xfinity will proceed with removing “some TV stations” in certain areas from neighboring markets.
Does it signal an amended agreement with Hearst Television?
The answer appears to be Yes.
Twelve stations are being removed from 10 different areas. And, while they’re being replaced with other affiliates of the same network, Comcast is telling its customers that local news broadcasts from the channels being deleted are available online or on the NewsOn app.
In the not-so-distant past, the thought of telling TV customers to use an online alternative to cable TV service would be crazy. Today, Comcast’s WiFi and home broadband imprint is among the largest in the U.S.
WHAT’S DISAPPEARING?
On March 31, the following towns, most of them tiny, will see the following channel swaps:
| Area/ Channel Lineup | Former DMA (new DMA) | Channel Being Removed | Local Channel Remaining |
| Twin City, Georgia | Savannah (now Augusta) | WJCL (ABC) | WJBF (ABC) – Nexstar Media Group |
| Horse Cave, Kentucky | Louisville (now Bowling Green) | WLKY (CBS) | WNKY (CBS) – Marquee Broadcasting |
| Newberry, South Carolina | Greenville, S.C. (now Columbia, S.C.) | WYFF (NBC) | WIS (NBC) – Gray Television |
| Tell City, Indiana | Louisville (now Evansville, Ind.) | WLKY (CBS) | WEVV (CBS) – Allen Media, owned by Byron Allen |
| Connersville, Richmond, Lynn-Winchester, Indiana | Cincinnati (now Indianapolis) | WLWT (NBC) | WTHR (NBC) – TEGNA |
| Bedford, Indiana | Louisville (now Indianapolis) | WLKY (CBS) | WTTV (CBS) – Nexstar Media Group |
| Galax, Virginia | Winston-Salem (now Roanoke-Lynchburg) | WXII (NBC) | WSLS (NBC) – Graham Media Group |
Twin City, Ga., on U.S. Highway 80 east of Swainsboro, is halfway between Savannah and Augusta. However, it has long been considered part of the Savannah market.
Otherwise, the March changes seem to make sense, geographically. Horse Cave, home to Dart Container Company, is a Kentucky town that’s much closer to Bowling Green than Louisville. In the five other towns, in-state programming will be seen.
On April 6, 2021, five additional changes will be carried out by Comcast:
| Area/ Channel Lineup | Former DMA (new DMA) | Channel Being Removed | Local Channel Remaining |
| Portales, New Mexico | Albuquerque (now Amarillo, Tex.) | KOAT (ABC)* | KVII (ABC) – Sinclair Broadcast Group |
| Chico/Oroville, California | Sacramento (now Chico-Redding) | KCRA (NBC)* | KNVN (NBC) – Maxair Media |
| Las Cruces, New Mexico | Albuquerque (now El Paso, Tex.) | KOAT (ABC)* | KVIA (ABC) – News-Press & Gazette Co. |
| Contra Costa/Solano County, California | San Francisco-Oak-San Jose | KCRA (NBC)* | KNTV (NBC) – O&O |
| Santa Clara County, California | San Francisco-Oak-San Jose | KSBW (NBC)* | KNTV (NBC) – O&O |
Portales customers may be among the few to truly be confused by what they’re watching. Sinclair’s KVII-7 uses the same “7” logo as KOAT-7 in Albuquerque. And, while Amarillo is closer, news may not reflect New Mexico issues and events.
Meanwhile, the Las Cruces market has long been tied to El Paso, due south, rather than to Albuquerque. Still, the loss of New Mexico-focused news from one of the state’s biggest news providers could upset some Xfinity customers.
Then, there is Contra Costa, Solano and Santa Clara Counties, all within the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA. Some may question why KCRA-3 was on systems in Contra Costa and Solano Counties. This is likely tied to the history of NBC affiliation in the Bay Area, which infamously was shed from KRON-4 and ended up on KNTV-11 just before New Year’s Eve 2001. KNTV, which in 2000 successfully became a full Bay Area DMA station, was previously a secondary ABC affiliate focused on San Jose and Santa Cruz. With KNTV’s launch, KCRA-3 and KSBW-8 could have been logical alternatives.
Of course, KNTV is a NBC O&O; NBC’s parent is Comcast.
While Comcast’s Xfinity is moving forward with the above changes, some 26 towns and regions will not see any channel shifts.
That’s great news for Bristol County, Mass., subscribers who had expressed frustration with the proposed substitution of WCVB-5 for Providence-based WLNE-6.
And, it ensures two small towns in Georgia’s Coastal Empire did not lose their only ABC channel, Hearst’s WJCL-22 in Savannah, Ga.
Meanwhile, Claremont, N.H., subscribers will continue to receive both WMUR-9 in Manchester, N.H., and WCVB.
Furthermore, select Harrisburg, Pa., subscribers will continue to receive WBAL-11, the NBC affiliate in Baltimore; historical commuting patterns via I-83 have sewn close ties between the Maryland metropolis and Pennsylvania’s state capital.
Also of importance to Hearst, its independent “MOR TV” offering in the Tampa-St. Petersburg DMA will continue to be seen in Arcadia, Fla., the De Soto County seat.
And, rural areas of Todd Township, Pa. and Washington County, Md., will continue to get NBC programming from WGAL and giant NBC O&O WRC-4 in Washington, D.C.; that station was poised to be added to local systems on Dec. 2.
