from: Detroit News [1]
Monday, November 26, 2007
Clinton Twp.
Public access channel change riles officials
They say the move would make it difficult for residents to find community programs.
Steve Pardo / The Detroit News
CLINTON TOWNSHIP -- Officials in the state's largest township are upset that Comcast plans to change the public access channel from Channel 5 to somewhere in the 900s.
For the past 20 years, Clinton Township residents who subscribe to Comcast have been watching board meetings, community events and other township-related activities on Channel 5. The local schools have been broadcasting programs on Channels 20 and 22.
But in a letter sent last week to township officials, Comcast representatives explained starting Jan. 15, it would begin offering the public, education and government programming in digital format. The move would correspond with the change that would "place these channels in consecutive channel positions largely uniform across the state."
"People find us on the lower-tiered numbers by channel surfing," said Linda Badamo, township director of cable television and communications. "This is a big deal. We're going to lose our audience from the Comcast standpoint."
Officials immediately called Comcast after receiving the correspondence but feel the cable company is being less than helpful.
"The letter is dated Nov. 15 and we received it late Monday, Nov. 19," Badamo said. "We reacted by calling Comcast immediately only to be told that the decisions have been made and letters are already in the mail to subscribers."
Another problem is many televisions aren't equipped handle cable signals beyond channel 120 unless they have a special converter box. Gerald Smith, government affairs manager for Comcast, said the company will offer a free converter box to analog customers.
Still, the board plans to address the issue at tonight's meeting. "It seems impractical that for every TV set that can currently receive these important channels by simply plugging the cable into the television, that now I will have to get a bulky cable box for each set with a separate remote control," said Dennis Tomlinson, township clerk.
"Either that, or it's time to buy a new TV," he said.
Township officials point out the free converter box is only for one year and after a year customers will have to pay between $2 and $5 per month. Officials are looking for a better deal from the cable companies.
"How Comcast has handled this situation is troubling," says Treasurer William Sowerby. "I look forward to the board discussion Monday night, to bring forth to the public all that has been told to us, and to see if there are any further actions that the board can take to ease this upcoming burden for our residents subscribing to Comcast Cable."
Officials are expected to approve a board resolution tonight requesting that the cable company offer converter boxes for free for more than the one-year time frame to customers and call subscribers who do not have cable boxes to explain the changes.
You can reach Steve Pardo at (586) 468-3614 or spardo@detnews.com.