When La Plata County residents are able to receive Denver television stations, it will be that city’s crime stories and cold weather reports rather than Albuquerque’s that will be on the air. Downtown Sixteenth Street food events will replace the balloon fest, and I-70 will trump I-40.
More importantly, viewers will be certain to see the Broncos on the occasional evenings that compete with the Cowboys’ play.
That’s the commonplace crime, weather and sports components of today’s evening television news.
But, there will be substantive reports about major real estate developments, goings-on at the state’s two flagship universities, and legislative initiatives at the capitol. Viewers will become more familiar with John Hickenlooper as governor, rather than Susana Martinez.
That Southwest Colorado is tied to forces and events to the north will be strengthened, to some degree.
La Plata County is beginning the process of applying to the Federal Communications Commission for a “market modification” that will remove the county from Albuquerque’s market area, set decades ago based on shopping patterns and signal reach. It is an effort that is only possible because of a rule change earlier this year that allows local petitioning as well as petitions from cable and satellite companies to request such a change.
Even if the FCC rules favorably, satellite companies will have to reach agreements with the national networks. This is a new fill-in-the-blanks effort for the county and may take some time; then the FCC has 120 days to rule. Then come the network negotiations.
“Bring us Denver television,” has been the plea to Colorado’s congressional delegation for years, and they have tried. Undoing a market area boundary, apparently because of the economic rewards which go with it, has proven to be a challenge. There is no opposition in Southwest Colorado to a change. If the FCC process gives existing market leaders a chance to oppose the change, expect it to come from Albuquerque television stations which set their advertising rates to include Southwestern Colorado.
While a shopping trip to Denver is a greater effort than it is to Albuquerque, the lack of advertising from Denver makes it that much more likely the shopping trip will be south bound.
We hope that the county can make good arguments in its request to the FCC, and we expect that members of the Congressional delegation will keep the pressure on. An end to the “just where are we?” that exists now, replaced by a stronger link to the state’s capital and the remainder of the state, is the goal.
