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Google"There are a couple of reasons for these changes," said Dyersburg Cable One General Manager Elvis Brown in a Dec. 23 press release on the issue. "The most important is signal strength. Cable One will continue to carry other affiliates so customers will still be able to see broadcast prime time programming."
Cable One will continue to offer ABC, CBS and NBC channels through its Memphis market, with WPTY Channel 2, WREG Channel 3, and WMC Channel 5 continuing to be a part of the company's broadcasting package.
"The (Federal Communications Commission) assigns every community in the nation to a market," said Brown. "For decades, Dyersburg has been placed in the Memphis market. According to FCC rules, we have to keep the channels in (our) market and that is why we'll be keeping the Memphis (channels)."
Brown said the out-of-market Jackson, Paducah and Cape Girardeau channels will be eliminated to make room for additional programming and channels requested by Dyersburg customers.
"The stations we are dropping are duplicates and have always been difficult to receive and had poorer picture quality," said Brown in the press release. "That's because they are transmitted a good distance from Dyersburg. Broadcasters are required by law to convert their channels to digital by Feb. 17, 2009. Unfortunately, because digital signals don't always travel as far as analog signals, after the transition, the channels will go dark."
The decision to remove Paducah and Cape Girardeau from Cable One's package is permanent, but area residents may have a say in whether they lose the Jackson channel.
"Paducah and Cape Girardeau are definite," said Brown. "As for WBBJ, we regret having to drop them as a duplicate, but we may be willing to revisit that. We do recognize how important (that station) is to the community. There may be quite a few people who have children in college there. All those things we have considered in order to alleviate the duplicates so we can start adding more of the programming the people in Dyersburg want.
"We do take the concerns of the community at heart," continued Brown. "Because of those concerns, the company perhaps may be able to revisit (the issue depending on feedback) we receive in the next four or five days. This is not a guarantee. This is not a promise. We will listen to the complaints if there are any and we feel there will be."
Brown said the final decision of whether or not to remove WBBJ will ultimately be made at the company headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz.
"Our utmost concern is how (our customers) feel about this," said Brown. "Because we are here to serve them. We sincerely apologize, but we are trying to notify them."
Brown said Cable One ran a notice in the State Gazette in late November warning its customers that the company was renegotiating its contracts with local affiliates.
"Out of eight, we are only considering dropping three," said Brown. "Right now, we have channels that are duplicates taking up our bandwidth. We don't have channel space to add more. With how quickly technology is advancing, to offer a good variety of programming we have to take the action we have taken in removing duplicate channels to enhance our channel lineup."
Cable One will continue to inform its customers of its decision between now and Jan. 1.
"Internet subscribers may receive an e-mail in the next day or two," said Brown. "We are using the tools at our disposal. Customers with digital recorders or DVRs will have a message light and we'll put a message on the Weather Channel crawl."
Brown said the company may also choose to do radio or cross-channel television commercials.
"We never like to remove channels," said Brown in the press release. "However, one benefit of this channel change is the expansion of our high-definition programming line-up in 2009. On Jan. 19, we will be adding Animal Planet HD. Shortly after, we will be adding your FOX regional sports network in high-definition. Both these networks have been highly requested by customers."
Note: The nature of the Internet makes it impractical for our staff to review every comment. If you feel that a comment is offensive, please
Try bringing comedy central, it's only one of the most viewed networks in the country.
what are we going to do when ch 3 messes up as usual, we need wgn back online?will our cable bill go dodwn ?
WHAT!!WBBJ-TV is the ONLY station that really reports on the weather for the Dyersburg Area, plus it carries several programs that I am interested in. I'm to the point of being sick of cableone dictating what we watch....plus their prices continually going up and we as the consumer get nothing!! Especially with their decision makers sitting in some other town who don't even know this area!!! Really people, I'm going satellite!
THERES YOUR CLOSEST WEATHER STATION IN WBBJ, AND IN KFVS, THERE GOES RAMS AND CHIEFS FOOTBALL...TIME TO LET BEYONCE UPGRADE YOU WITH DIRECT TV......
Drop Cape and Paducah, leave WBBJ, and add Animal Planet and Comedy Central. Jackson IS local enough (or more local than Memphis for that matter) to warrant keeping WBBJ on the channel lineup. I guarantee you that more people in Dyersburg go to Jackson (school, church, shopping, whatever) than do to Memphis. Jackson is the most local television news station that D'burg has. CableOne is a fool to drop WBBJ and if they do we will drop them.
It could be much worse, You could be on a financially struggling Charter, or Comcast.
I mean, c'mon.. if nothing else the 5th quarter on Friday nights makes WBBJ worth it.
direct tv or dish for me after Christmas. only reason we kept cableone was because of channel 7.
Hey CableOne. If you drop Jackson you drop me.
Well it looks like I am not the only one in the area that will be going off of Cable One. I am out of here, WBBJ news is important to me and I love the watch MASH on Channel 12 and their other late night programming which is NOT the same as Channel 3.
Congratulation after 19 years, you lost us as customers
I agree with jscott. We need WGN back. I loved many shows on that channel and my husband is also a huge Cubs fan. He just about went to dish when they cut it before and I also agree that Jackson's WBBJ is a vital necessity for the entire west TN region. I'm all for removing the other duplicate stations to make room for more, but at least make it something the public wants cause we are the ones that pay for it. How about showing more than the same 10-15 movies on the expensive HBO package? I like seeing the newer movies, but repeats of 20 year old movies is kinda defeating the purpose of having HBO. Not everyone has high def tv either. Did Cable One ever think to poll their customers to find out what they wanted, or is the final decision left up to people that don't live here and have probably never even visited.
Glad I left cable for direct tv...next thing you know, you people will lose a couple of the Memphis stations!!!!
I could care less about the Memphis channels. I will drop Cable One, if they drop WBBJ. That is the station that I watch the news on. Memphis is mostly concerned about their closest areas. Cable One could bring back WGN. I miss that channel. Cable One, shape up or ship out.
Why gon't you add GSN to regular Cable,So Us Old Folks who have no other means to Entertainment can at least enjoy the game shows.I would like to keep Jackson Channel.
Actually, on further research.. you wouldn't get WBBJ on DirecTV or Dish.. you'd get WPTY for your ABC station.
Ouch, WBBJ in Jackson's struggling.
this happens because cableone has a monopoly on this market. we need competition so the consumers will at least have another option. maybe direct tv or dish is the answer, i know i am ready to try it. as far as the rates going down, in our dreams.
Just so you know, Charter cable has taken the same steps in Union City.They removed channels
3,4,5,71,72,73,and 74.I think it is time for some competition in these markets.Our city leaders need to step up and help with this situation.
My six months trial will be up in March then it'll be back to Direct tv and the tru channel for me. Losing Channel 7 doesn't bother me that much, don't get me wrong, it's a great channel when the voices and picture are in sync, but there is no comparison in quality for the same amount of money.
said Brown. "Because we are here to serve them (customers).
Since when is a cable company here to serve. Their main goal is the ringing of the cash register. We gave up on cable television years ago in favor of Dish. And its strange that my 20' pole antenna has managed to pick up Cannel 6 quite well until I opted for dish. Maybe their techs just need to point their dishes in the correct position.
Or, could it be that Channel 6 is just a hard channel to negotiate with on price. Anyone who carries a station's signal must first settle on a price they pay that station and Paducah has always been a tough nut to crack.
Bye, bye Cableone! I have tried to stand by you, but can no longer. Channel 3 Memphis has the worst reception of all of the network channels...there are many times where it is barely watchable. 12 is the only saving grace. Also, when there is severe weather wall-to-wall coverage in Memphis, we still had an alternate channels in KFVS, WBBJ and WPSD. I now have no reason to stay. Not to mention the fact that we had out of town company for Christmas and almost all of the digital channels were missing or unwatchable for two days. Good job!
We have Direct TV, and I love it! Like everything else, there's never really anything on worth watching, but at least on Direct TV, there's a lot more of it! Our bill is something like $125.00 or $130.00 a month, and we've got everything they offer. I think it's a LOT better than any cable I've ever seen. We have network, but no "local's"
how much is basic Cableone in Dburg these days?
i pay 50.00 a month for basic cable......way too much!!!!!
Who offers a descent internet just outside od Dyersburg city limits? I sure hate to subscribe to Cable one. Will someone please advise?
Cable One should not do away with the Heartland stations on the cable line-up!! I enjoy watching those affiliates. It is clearly seen and felt that Dyersburg is practically a part of the Heartland region. True enough, neither KFVS 12 or WPSD 6 covers news that affects Dyersburg directly. Yet, both station offer distinct local programming that is a clear alternative to the Memphis regions' local television programming. WBBJ does not cover Dyersburg area news events like the station could. In fact, WBBJ should establish a news bureau or news reporter, in Dyersburg, in order to cover the Northwest Tennessee area. Bottom line, taking the Heartland/West Tennessee stations off the cable line-up is truly a loss to the Cable One and the customer.
Didnt the contract just come up letely? why wasnt this brought up then?something screwie somewhere?
You can totally forget cable even being around within 5 years. They are slowly but surely going out of business, satellite is just too convenient.
ATT offers high speed internet in most of the surrounding areas, you don't have to have a phone line. Their price varies for the speed you receive, but we have been satisfied for over 2 years with it, and it's just as fast as cable at a comparable speed.
I have Direct TV now - I went after TruTv left their line-up - I watched WBBJ for the local weather since Memphis stations primarily serves MS and Ark especially weather wise. Channel 5 does seem to go out of their way and give good coverage in severe weather cases. Comedy Central would be a good channel but because of its programming I think Cable-One wont bring it back. I seem to recall we used to have it at one time but it was removed and if I read the article correctly, it stated it HAD to keep the Memphis stations because Dyersburg is in that market and by FCC law they HAVE to keep it, if we were in any other market, its no telling what we would have to watch. We definitely need some regulation and by the way, thank you Cable-One for turning me over to a collection agency for 300.00 for the box I returned to your office and I have the receipt showing I returned it to you, I am still going back and forth with the collection agency trying to prove I do not have your box.
Trucker 889293, have you considered your local phone comapny? Or Hughesnet? Direct tv doesn't offer internet, and I don't know if Dish does, or not. Anyway, you might want to consider, at least those two options. Good luck.