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Suncoast Pasco News

County To Fight Bright House On Channel Change

Government channel to move to 622

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By Carl  Orth | The Suncoast News

Published: October 1, 2007

New Port Richey FL - New Port Richey FL - What's wrong with this picture?

That's what Pasco County officials will ask Bright House Networks executives who want to move the county's government channel 19 to channel 622 on the digital tier.

The channel lineup change contemplated for Dec. 11 would also move the school and public access channels 14 and 20 to the digital band.

Standard cable customers would need a new type of converter box for $1 a month to continue to receive the three public access channels, Bright House officials have said.

County Administrator John Gallagher has called an Oct. 15 summit with Bright House.

The office of State Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, confirmed today the senator has accepted an invitation to attend the meeting.

The county lost nearly all of its regulatory power over cable TV companies. The state, as of July 1, now oversees cable franchises. Hence the invitation to Fasano.

County leaders are describing it as a "public safety issue," according to Gallagher's letter received today at Fasano's office.

The county posts emergency information during hurricanes and other crises on channel 19, Gallagher explained in his letter.

Alerts on mandatory evacuations, shelter openings and closings, sand bag locations and water station sites are among the "crucial information" relayed on the cable channel.

Limited basic and standard cable customers will need to rent a converter box for $1 a month to see the three public access channels on the digital tier, according to Joe Durkin, senior director of corporate communications for Bright House. confirmed.

The converter would give standard cable customers an extra 16 channels all together, Durkin said.

That includes three, 24-hour all-weather channels from the local TV broadcasters.

The new type of converter would also give standard customers access to movies on demand.

Durkin described the converter as a "tremendous value."

The public access channels would move to a "high visibility" spot on the digital tier, Durkin said, where a lot of viewers surf.

Bright House wants to realign its channel lineups so they are uniform in all seven counties the cable provider serves in the Tampa Bay area, Durkin explained.

Six out of 10 Bright House customers already subscribe to digital service, Durkin said. But four out of 10 customers have only the analog cable signal up to about channel 76.

Durkin wasn't sure how many of the converter boxes might be stockpiled. "It's going to depend on the demand."

Based on an internal tracking system, "Traditionally, the government and public access channels are among the lowest viewed channels," Durkin commented today.

"We're going to work with the customers ... to best meet the needs of the customers," Durkin concluded.

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