rfmcdonald | [URBAN NOTE] "Over-the-air TV opens up the world outside your door" (Reply)

I'm not sure I necessarily agree with Shawn Micallef's argument in the Toronto Star. Whether over-the-air or streamed digitally, content is content, and can be as localized as you'd like.

Most television transmissions in Toronto originate from the CN Tower, the reason it was built, and if your place has a clear line of sight to it you’ll likely have a good signal. My apartment faces north, away from the tower, but condo buildings bounce the signal down to me. I was also surprised at how many Buffalo stations I was getting.

“Signals travel really well over the lake,” says May. “It’s like how you can hear people partying far across water.” In my layperson’s imagination, the condos catch the Buffalo signals and throw them down to me. Thanks condos.

Watching, and listening, to terrestrial broadcasts is a connection to place that “on-demand” services can’t provide, and watching OTA TV has been a sort of rediscovery of the region. Terrestrial radio is similar, providing a local connection that satellite services and podcasts often don’t. The best thing to do on a road trip is find local radio stations and soak up the local commercials, news and traffic reports, all a way to understand that place a bit more.

Watching Buffalo commercials, I now have intimate knowledge of their local attorney scene should I ever wish to file a medical malpractice or slip-and-fall lawsuit in western New York, but all of it has me wanting to visit Buffalo more. Toronto and Buffalo used to have a stronger relationship when they were the bigger city, but Buffalo’s PBS station, WNED, still appreciates the relationship because it brings in fundraising dollars, albeit depressed Canadian ones, branding themselves as a “Buffalo-Toronto” station.