No cable subscription......but still get local signals through the cable wire anyway?

Let me see if I can explain this clearly.

My friend has a new HDTV with an ATSC tuner. She had cable service from one of the major providers and had the coaxial cable from the wall connected directly to her TV. There was no set top box or anything else.

She got tired of paying for cable so she had it cut off.

Now here is where the strange part comes in.

Even though she could no longer get cable channels she actually did start picking up all of the local stations(ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) through the cable wire from the wall.

As a test...... we unplugged the cable wire from the TV to see if the local stations would still come in. However, without the cable wire plugged into the TV then no channels come in.

Sooooo......... are cable companies required to stream local channels to you even if you do not purchase any type of cable TV subscription from them?

To recap....... no cable subscription but still using the cable wire from the wall to receive signals for local channels. Does it work the same way for everyone?

TC

They are not sending you (her) a signal, but they must have forgot to disconnect the line from their transmission lines. You (she) is still picking up some unencrypted QAM that they do generally carry for everyone.

Its not your (her) fault they didn't disconnect it, but they probably will in the future, so enjoy it while you (she) can.

If you post the address, we can probably give you a good antenna choice to pick up your local stations free.

If she has internet service from the cable company the filter they use CAN'T block all the signals or the intenet won't work!! So, if that is the case she will continue to get the locals plus a few more. They come to the street and put a filter in at the pole!!

Comcast has already announced that if you have one of their high speed internet packages that they are going to have a site where you can watch your local channels directly on your computer - just like a television.

I suspect they will have some type of name and password included in your bill that will give you access to the account.

The day of needing a antenna to watch television might soon come to a end for Comcast subscribers.

About a week after I dumped MediaCom internet, our local tech, (I try to be nice) cut off the cable at the pole and left my end lying on the lawn.

Yes, in certain cities and within certain franchise agreements Cable companies are required to transmit the local broadcast channels through the cable even without a subscription. They are of course standard definition and compressed.
An antenna would get the HD programming and put the HDTV to much better use.