EchoStar Communications announced Thursday that its DISH Network will offer local TV channels to Montgomery, Ala., and the surrounding area, representing a significant milestone for the satellite TV service. DISH Network now offers local channels to 100 million TV households nationally – or 92 percent of the total TV households (based on Nielsen 2004 figures).
The following local TV channels will be available: ABC Ch. 32 (WNCF), CBS Ch. 8 (WAKA), FOX Ch. 20 (WCOV), NBC Ch. 12 (WSFA), PBS Ch. 26 (WAIQ), Independent Ch. 29 (WBIH) and UPN Ch. 67 (WRJM).
This is the first time local TV channels are available on satellite in the Montgomery area, providing an alternative to local cable TV service. DISH Network now offers local channels as part of its new Digital Home Advantage.
Starting at $29.99 per a month, this promotion offers customers free installation for up to four TVs, with no commitment and no hardware to buy and includes more than 60 popular TV channels such as ESPN, Discovery and Nickelodeon, plus local Montgomery TV channels.
Customers can call DISH Network or a local satellite TV retailer to learn how to get a free multi-satellite dish antenna required to receive Montgomery area local channels. DISH Network also provides digital video recording technologies, high definition TV and more than 60 international, foreign-language channels to the Montgomery area.
“The addition of local channels on DISH Network gives customers in Montgomery a final reason to choose DISH Network over cable,” said Eric Sahl, vice president of Programming. “Customers in Montgomery now have more programming and product choices at a better price, with the ability to watch the news, weather and sports that matter most to them.”
DISH Network offers local channels via satellite to 16 counties in the Montgomery area: Autauga, Bullock, Butler, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Dallas, Elmore, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Montgomery, Perry, Pike, Tallapoosa and Wilcox counties.
With the addition of Montgomery, DISH Network offers local channels in 141 cities and their metro areas, in 50 states and in the District of Columbia.
For customers who do not subscribe to Digital Home Advantage, local channels will be available at $5.99 a month.
