Charter to undergo major channel shakeup in August
If you're a Charter basic cable customer and really watch those local public access channels, there may be a cable box in your future. Charter Communications is getting ready to shuffle their channel lineup in a big way, and there are a few notable changes in store. According to their website, the shift is part of "an effort to offer more digital and high-definition channels."
Starting August 12th, channels 7 and 19 will no longer be home to local access. In its place, digital channel 978-994 are being slated to hold Charter's local PEG programming. According to a report, this will be dubbed the "public affairs neighborhood," and will allegedly be available to non-boxed cable customers if their TVs have a QAM-capable digital tuner built in. There is no indication on the website what may replace the channels, if anything, in their former channel numbers. Charter's info network on channel 25 will also be moving to digital.
Dozens of channels will be changing channel numbers on August 27th as well, including digital/HD feeds of Green Bay's local channels.
Among the notable additions, Charter will be adding WPNE's digital subchannels (The Wisconsin Channel, Create and PBS Kids) to their digital lineup starting August 27th. Charter will also be adding its new crop of HD channels on August 27th, including Animal Planet HD, FSN Wisconsin HD, a high-def Pay Per View channel, Smithsonian Channel HD, TBS in HD and The Movie Channel HD. The cable carrier will also be adding a substanial slate of Spanish-language channels including Telemundo Wisconsin.
Educational Access (channel 23) as well as five iN DEMAND channels will be deleted entirely in the move.
Charter customers can click on this link to go to Charter's channel change page. Upon entering your zip code, you will see all the changes in the works where you live.
 |
Written by Mark | Posted on July 23, 2008 | 2 comments |
Fox Cities TV is an independent blog and member-driven community based in Green Bay, Wisconsin and serves the Northeast Wisconsin area, including Green Bay, Appleton, and Oshkosh. TV lovers can come here to learn about what's happening in local (and national) television, interact with other TV viewers and express their opinions.
Some may ask, "Why is moving
Some may ask, "Why is moving the local public access channels a big deal?"
Think about it. Public Access channels by design are community oriented programming targeting the widest number of viewers in a community. It's through local access that citizens view local government meetings, learn about and discuss community issues, see annoucements from non-profit or civic organizations, and more.
If Charter moves the local access channels to a digital tier, then they are moved outside the realm of affordability for anyone who subscribed to basic cable. Senior citizens and low income people would be adversely impacted--some of the same groups that derive the most benefit from what public access channels have to offer.
The situation worsens when Charter suggests tacking on a modest rental fee to re-enable those people to regain the ability to view their public access channel.
What does Charter propose to put in the place when the public access channels are relocated? Some new digital service? More high definition? Nope. Another analog channel. Probably a shopping channel.
Why not leave the public access channels where they are and move the other stuff into the digital tier?
Why should people in the Fox Cities care when Charter doesn't operate here? Because the same thing can happen with our video service providers.
I'm a senior citizen and
I'm a senior citizen and charter needs to
put a package for seniors only.
currently my expanded is 39.99+tax-I pleaded to stay with this package
and was told SORRY good customers that pay well "NO CONSIDERATION".
A two-hundred unit complex for seniors all have charter and complain about price.
The management is considering a dish that would be lower cost.
Our total entertainment is tv+church. GIVE us a break.
Fran Murphy
314/968-4474
Post new comment