WVVA TV Bluefield Beckley WV News, Weather and SportsWVVA now on DirecTV
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Let the celebration begin for some of the satellite television subscribers across the WVVA viewing area.
Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia has been on a mission to bring local-to-local satellite viewing to our market.
In an exclusive interview with WVVA last Thursday via satellite from Washington D.C., the congressman made this exciting announcement.
"I do have some good news I'd like to share with WVVA's viewers. Effective next Wednesday, the 30th of September, DirecTV, one of the nations major two providers of satellite television services, will begin uplinking the television stations that are situated in the Bluefield market. That includes WVVA as well as the CBS, ABC, Fox and public broadcasting stations that also serve the Bluefield market. Then, subscribers to DirecTV services will be able to obtain the rich array of news and sports, entertainment and other programming that originates on WVVA. The local news is very popular, and local news programs are among the most viewed programs, whether carried over the air or broadcast on cable or satellite TV. So having access to that locally generated [content]...is critically important to the quality of life of viewers in the Bluefield area," said Boucher.
The DirecTV call center is prepared to offer the new service to all current and new customers. Customers must simply call the customer service line at 1-800-531-5000 to request the local channels.
If current customers are concerned by having older equipment, the DirecTV representative can run your account number to see if you have the correct equipment needed to receive the local channels. If newer equipment is needed, DirecTV will replace the equipment for no charge. The fee for local channels on Directv is only $3 per month.
At this point there's no word on when, or if, Dish Network will begin providing local channels.
Boucher says they are in discussions, there are just no definite plans at this point.
