City programming committee reviews plans to add new cable channels
The city’s Cable TV Programming Committee met Wednesday to review new additions to the city’s cable TV system.
By JIM & ELIJAH BROOKS
Nelson County Gazette / WBRT Radio
Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2015, 4 p.m. — The Bardstown Cable TV Programming Committee gave its final nod to new offerings on the city’s cable TV system.
The Oprah Winfrey Network is moving from Digital Basic to the lower Basic and Expanded Basic tiers.
The Golf Channel and CLOO — both currently available on the city’s Extended Digital Basic tier — will move to the Digital Basic tier. Three new channels will also become available on Digital Basic — the Smithsonian Channel, AXS TV, and CNBC World.
Three new sports-related channels will be added to Extended Digital Basic — ESPN Buzzer Beater, ESPN Goal Line and ESPN Bases Loaded.
The three channels are gametime-only channels: Buzzer Beater is active during the NCAA Division I basketball season; Bases Loaded is active during the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship; and Goal Line is active during the college football season.
The content is already part of the city cable ESPN agreement and won’t increase the cost of the Extended Digital Basic tier.
The HD Xtreme tier is losing Universal HD, while the Smithsonian Channel is moving down to the Digital Basic tier. HDNet Movies will be added to HD Xtreme.
The new channels should be available when the new cable TV rates become effective Feb. 1.
NBC UNIVERSAL RENEWAL. Jeff Mills, city electrical engineer, told the committee the National Cable TV Cooperative (NCTC) is representing the city in ongoing negotiations with NBC Universal and its wide range of cable offerings, which include Syfy, Bravo, USA Network, E!, CLOO, Chiller, Oxygen, MSNBC, NBC, NBC Sports, Golf Channel and others.
The contract with NBC has actually expired, but the NCTC said its negotiations continue, and NBC content is provided under an extension. Mills said the co-op indicated the chances are low that a new three-year contract won’t be reached.
Depending on the size of the cable system, some cable systems may be required to add Sprout, an channel that combines a mix of PBS programming with original children’s programs.
Mills told the committee that the NCTC is also representing the city in negotiations with Turner Networks, whose contract expired Feb. 29, 2016.
NEXT UP. The next regular meeting of the cable TV programming committee is April 6, 2016.
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