Why can't I get Dish Network local channels despite living 35 miles from a major city?

Only Dish can answer this and you don't mention what the city is and what state you live, but there could be many reasons. Sparse population - Dish does not feel it is worth the investment (Local channels needs to be transmitted up before they can be received down by satellite) Negotiations failed with local stations Living across the border causes extra complications although it is not unusual for Dish, in remote areas, to offer local channels from another area

The problem in your case may be beause the major city is in the neighboring state. Different laws and regulations mean complications!

I have Dish Network and we get local channels for Chicago, and we live about 40 miles outside of the city. If I remember correctly, local channels for our area were part of a package that we signed up for. It's entirely possible that Dish does not have some kind of deal with the city you live near (which would be why they don't offer it), OR, the 'package' you have does not include them. I don't see how this could be a political thing, it just doesn't make sense to me. Have you contacted Dish and spoken to people there? Just a thought...I'm sure you must have by now if it's been 10 years.

The dish network has certain channels that it provides for customers, it's not what you can catch with the dish. The local channels can be provided by your cable company. Or you can by the digital converter and get the local channels.

Dish network doesn't carry those channels. There's a big bru-ha-ha in NYC about Verizon FiOS not carrying local channels. Typically, if you want local, you need to buy a regional cable service, i.e. Time Warner for New Yorkers. EDIT: Think of it this way: It doesn't pay for Dish to carry local channels because a) they need to pay for those channels and pass those fees on to their subscribers, and b) not enough people would watch those channels nationally to justify increasing the cost of their service