La Plata applies pressure to get Denver TV signals

DURANGO — County commissioners in La Plata County are continuing to work to end the orphan status of the county.

Unlike almost all of the rest of Colorado, La Plata residents, and others in southwest Colorado, can’t view Colorado television. Instead, TV signals — and the news and advertising that come over them — emanate from the Albuquerque, N.M., market. That makes La Plata an orphan county, a term applied to counties that aren’t considered a part of the TV market of their state.

The issue is a longstanding one, as described in a report in the Durango Herald. Residents want news about their own state, not news from a state over which they have no political influence. Yet TV stations such as those in New Mexico are loathe to give up the viewers in southwest Colorado because it would impact the rates they can charge for advertising.

The ultimate decision will come from the Federal Communications Commission, and that will require political pressure from Colorado elected officials.

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