Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
LA DirecTV Customers Can Now Get NY's WNBC, Experience NBC's Amazing Shows 3 Hours Early
()
DirecTV called LAist on the phone and left us a message. The recorded voice said that DirecTV had worked out a deal with WNBC in NY that allowed certain zipcodes in LA the ability to get the east coast channel for just $6 a month.
The benefit would be that we in LA would be able to get late night shows like Saturday Night Live and Conan O'Brien at 9:30pm instead of at 12:30am.
Because LAist is a little obsessive about television and we have pretty much every channel that the satellite provider delivers, we immediately called back last week when we heard the offer. Unfortunately no one at the 1800-DIRECTV knew what the fark we were talking about. They promised to call back the next day, but never did.
Support for LAist comes from
So we called back yesterday, the lady had no clue what we were referring to, rambled on about how there was a federal law against people getting local channels that weren't in their local markets (or nearby), and then tried to transfer us to a higher level of support, but sent us to New Customers. We were then transfered back down to the first level of customer service who then sent us to CIS(!) who saw the offer on the screen but couldn't figure out how to hook us up. 15 minutes later she had figured it out and we were watching Last Comic Standing three hours before we were supposed to.
So we identified ourselves as LAist and we asked if it was okay for us to share this special with our friends in LA who might also subscribe to DirecTV and wouldn't mind paying a little extra to get Conan at a reasonable hour on channel 382.
The woman said that it was fine to talk about it. She said that people should ask for the "NBC in NY only in LA" promotion. If your customer service rep seems to have no idea what you're talking about, ask to be transfered to CIS, or ask to be transfered to a supervisor.
The price of $5.99 a month does seem a little steep when compared to other premium packages where one can get 7 HBO channels or 9 Showtime channels for $12, but if you like Conan or local NY news, six bucks is a pittance. One less splurge at the valet a month.
There seems to be zero information about this special on the DirecTV site - maybe this does break some federal laws (whoops) - but the TiVo message board seemed to have a few members who experienced what we did when trying to sign up for the offer. So, who knows, maybe this is another in a long line of LAist scoops.
Whatevs. All we know is it's 2:25pm and we have Live at Five bustin on the second tuner with My Name is Earl ready to start recording at 5pm. Life is grand.
Lets hope this is the first step in the inevitable of all channels available for all Americans... at a price.
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
Wasteland Weekend is all about souped-up rust buckets, spikey costumes and an ‘ideal apocalypse.’ -
The Shadow the Scientists initiative at UC Santa Cruz strives to demystify astronomical research. -
Some submissions to the Pasadena Humane Society were made by extremely talented artists. The others … tried their best. -
Isolated showers can still hit the L.A. area until Friday as remnants from the tropical storm move out. -
First aspiring spectators must register online, then later in 2026 there will be a series of drawings. -
It's thanks to Tropical Storm Mario, so also be ready for heat and humidity, and possibly thunder and lightning.
Best of LAist