Super Bowl on DirecTV? (1 Viewer)

[Ron Reda]

Is there any chance that one of the DirecTV channels in the 70-range will be carrying the SB? I don't have an antenna, so that's the only hope I have of seeing the SB in glorious HD.

 

[Hank]

Does DirectTV carry CBS in your area? My local cable company does not carry CBS in HD yet so I have to watch it OTA.

 

[David Forbes]

No. The only way to get it is if your local station is CBS owned and operated (O&O) and to get a waiver from them. THEN you could receive the national HD CBS feed, which will carry the Superbowl. Problem is the waivers take 4 to 6 weeks to process through DirecTV. You just don't have enough time right now.

If you have a DirecTV HD receiver and your local CBS affiliate is broadcasting HD, go buy a pair of rabbit ears at Radio Shack and see if you can pick up the signal. They're not expensive. Even my big attic-mounted yagi was only $40 (though the rotor and install added a bit more to the cost).

 

[Jeff Keene]

This statement is inaccurate.

The O&O stations are actually the only stations from which you do NOT need a waiver. If you live in an area that is served ONLY by a O&O CBS station, you are home free and can receive The CBS HD channel from DirecTV when it is available (they say it should be in place for the Super Bowl).

If you live in an area that is served by a non-O&O station, however, a waiver will be required. This applies even if your primary CBS station is O&O but you can receive at least a "grade B" signal from an overlapping non-O&O CBS station. This is the situation I am in. While Denver is O&O, I supposedly get a grade B signal from the Cheyenne station, which is an affiliate. In my case, I sent the station an e-mail and the waiver was faxed within 24 hours, so I should be good.

The only other way to receive this station would be if you lived in a "white area", not served by any CBS station whatsoever.

The O&O CBS stations are:
CBS Stations:
KEYE-TV - Austin, TX
WJZ-TV - Baltimore, MD
WBZ-TV - Boston, MA
WBBM-TV - Chicago, IL
KTVT-TV - Dallas-Fort Worth, TX
KCNC-TV - Denver, CO
WWJ-TV - Detroit, MI
WFRV-TV - Green Bay, WI
WCBS-TV - New York, NY
WFOR-TV - Miami-Ft. Lauderdale, FL
WCCO-TV - Minneapolis, WI
KYW-TV - Philadelphia, PA
KDKA-TV - Pittsburgh, PA
KUTV-TV - Salt Lake City, UT
KPIX-TV - San Francisco, CA
KCBS-TV - Los Angeles, CA

Here is the DirecTV press release on the subject.

The web site that will tell you what stations DirecTV will think you can get is here.

Here is the dish network site that describes the requirements for eligibility for CBS-HD (DirecTV should follow the same rules, since they are based on law).

Here is a long thread on AVS discussing, arguing, and repeating the issue ad nauseum.