The satcaster has launched a new service called "NBC In NY -- Only in LA."
For $5.99 a month, eligible Los Angeles residents can add WNBC, the NBC owned station in New York, to their DIRECTV local channel lineup.
To be eligible for WNBC, the DIRECTV customer must not be able to capture a signal from a NBC station other than KNBC, the Los Angeles area NBC-owned affiliate.
The service only includes WNBC's standard definition feed, and not its high-def signal. But by tuning in WNBC from New York, LA residents can now watch the NBC programming lineup three hours before anyone else in the city. (New York is three hours ahead of Los Angeles.)
For instance, the Tonight Show With Jay Leno, which airs at 11:35 p.m. Pacific on KNBC, can now be seen on WNBC in Los Angeles at 8:35 p.m. Pacific.
Both WNBC and KNBC are owned and operated by NBC, which presumably explains why the Los Angeles NBC station has signed off on permitting another local station to be viewed in its territory. Federal law does not permit a TV provider to offer an 'out-of-market' network signal unless the local affiliate grants a waiver.
DIRECTV spokesman Robert Mercer would not comment on the rights, except to say: "we have the appropriate rights to offer this service to our customers."
Mercer added that DIRECTV currently has no plans to offer a similar out-of-market' network feed in any other city.
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