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Verizon, Bright House Networks providing gratis coverage of HBO's inaugural coverage


Neither Verizon nor Bright House Networks can provide those oh-so-snazzy interactive mix channels like DirecTV and DISH Network can, but what they -- along with a few other providers, most likely -- can do is provide free access to HBO for a day. This Sunday (that's tomorrow for the continental US, the day after tomorrow for Point Hope, AK, Kihei, HI and surrounding areas), FiOS TV and BHN digital TV subscribers will all be given a fee-free look at HBO's exclusive live broadcast of the "We Are One: The Obama Inauguration Celebration" concert from the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. Better still, both carriers are providing HD feeds for those looking for the best in clarity (read: you), and those scouting the full lineup of artists and speakers can find just that in the links below. Trust us, this is like a hundred million times better than trying to get within 50 miles of The District this weekend.

Read - Verizon announcement
Read - Bright House Networks announcement
Read - Time Warner Cable announcement

Update: Turns out, HBO's letting anyone with a STB tune in gratis. Classy move.

Most markets will be tru2way ready by July 1st

tru2way logo
Although you wouldn't know it from the big press events at CES, tru2way is still on track for mass deployment and July 1st is the big day. The six biggest MSOs, signed on to that date some time ago -- it should be noted that Verizon still hates the idea -- and both Time Warner Cable and Comcast are proud to re-iterate that it's actually going to happen. Ten of TWC's 22 divisions have already deployed tru2way boxes -- no 3rd party device support yet -- which is about half of its customers. Comcast has already started supporting 3rd party tru2way boxes in Chicago and Denver back in October and also expects to have every market ready by July. The MSOs also agreed -- in the same Memorandum of Understanding -- that by July, 20% of its own new boxes would be using tru2way as well. So while it appears the MSOs will be ready for tru2way in 2009, based on the announcements at CES, we'll all have to wait until 2010 before we really see the TV manufacturers fulfill their end of the deal.

Bright House adds Fox Sports Florida

FSN FlroidaIn an announcement that has many sports fans in the Orlando and Tampa Bay area saying "about time," Bright House Networks and Fox Sports Florida has finally signed a carriage agreement. This isn't a moment too soon either as there are about 77 Orlando Magic games on the schedule each season. Although there is no mention of the HD channel in the release, we can only assume it's an oversight. Of course we're not sure how anyone could forget something as important as the HD channel number. Either way the SD version will be on channel 50 and will require a subscription to the digital tier.

Bright House Networks to host up MLB Network HD in Tampa Bay

We get the feeling that we'll see quite a few carriers proudly announcing carriage deals with MLB Network during the run-up to its launch (January 1, 2009), and Bright House Networks is getting us started by promising its Tampa Bay, Florida customers the channel come the new year. Starting in 2009, MLB Network will be available in SD on digital cable channel 159 and in HD on slot 744, and Joe Durkin, senior director corporate communications at the carrier, has confirmed that it will be added at no extra charge. For those unaware, the channel will carry "live games, original programming, highlights, classic games and coverage of baseball events," and its signature show -- MLB Tonight -- is obviously aiming to take viewers away from Karl Ravech, John Kruk and the rest of the gang at ESPN's 'Baseball Tonight.'

BHN gives free premiums for Florida outage, adds 4 new HD nets early

We can't possibly overstate the awesomeness of competition, and it's readily apparent in this here scenario. After many Central Florida-based Bright House Networks customers were left without TV service for around eight hours earlier this month, the outfit made known that small refunds would be given. Now, it's stepping the apology up another notch by promising a free month of Showtime HD, The Movie Channel, Showtime on Demand and TMC on Demand. Additionally, it's adding in those four high-def stations -- SciFi HD (1369), FX HD (1370), Travel HD (1365) and USA HD (1399) -- a few days early, giving you four more to enjoy over the Christmas holiday. Thanks, AT&T.

[Thanks, Rob]

BHN brings four new HD stations to Tampa Bay, Florida

Well, what do you know? Two of the four HD newcomers that landed in Indy earlier today have appeared down in Tampa Bay, Florida. According to an ecstatic local, Golf HD (739), USA HD (740), Bravo HD (742) and SciFi HD (741) have all appeared in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area, keeping it somewhat in line with its Orlando-area lineup. Happy surfing!

[Thanks, Kaylan]

Indianapolis, Indiana gets four HD channels courtesy of BHN

Indianapolis! How's it? If you call yourself a Bright House Networks customer, it's about to get a lot better. According to a local who was surfing aimlessly in the EPG today, USA HD (739), Travel HD (748), SciFi HD (768) and FX HD (771) are all available, and we'd wager that's no accident. Flip 'er on and enjoy your new material, Indy.

[Thanks, Rob]

Bright House Networks throws FX HD to Michigan subscribers

There's hardly anything more awesome than a belated gift that your weren't even expecting, and that's exactly what has been given to Bright House Networks customers in Michigan. Just days after receiving Biography HD, Golf HD, Versus HD and Hallmark Movie Channel HD, the carrier has added FX HD to the mix on slot 267. Any other stragglers out there you can tell us about, BHN?

[Thanks, Dean]

Bright House Networks adding four (good) HD channels in Florida

So, there's great news, and then some not so great news. We'll start you off with the former. Bright House Networks has decided to add SciFi HD (1369), Travel HD (1365), USA HD (1399) and FX HD (1370) to the Central Florida lineup, bringing the total in the area to 40 HD channels. The rub? They won't debut until December 29th, and we all know you'll be focused entirely on college football's bowl bonanza during that time. Still, for non-sports fanatics, there's hardly a better foursome to ask for.

[Thanks, Russ]

Bright House gives refunds for 8-hour service outage in Florida

With all the price hikes and complaints about quality, it's not often that you find a story tied to a cable company that's positive. And in fairness, it's totally not positive that Bright House Networks' subscribers in Florida had to deal with an eight hour TV outage starting at around 3:00PM Monday, but just bear with us. In an effort to express its "sincerest apologies," the carrier has decided to automatically issue credits to affected customers. Sure, the refund won't be huge, but it's a sentiment that's rare and much appreciated in today's cutthroat business world. The outage was unlike any other outside of times in which a hurricane had struck, and a corrupt database used to deliver programming to cable boxes was blamed for the incident. We know, you're still upset that you missed the series finale of Boston Legal and / or the trouncing of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but hopefully a few pennies back on your next bill will make things easier to get over.

Bright House Networks gifts Michigan subscribers with more HD

The weather isn't enviable in Michigan right now, but the HD lineup on Bright House Networks certainly is. According to new information on the carrier's website, locals can now tune to Biography HD (249), Golf HD (233), Versus HD (274) and Hallmark Movie Channel HD (290; replaces MOJO HD). These changes come just weeks after BHN delivered a half dozen others, so we suspect customers in the state are already salivating at the thought of getting more just a few months from now.

[Thanks, Dean]

BHN drops Fort Wayne NBC / ABC affiliates in Grant County, promises more HD

We certainly hope you Grant County residents in Indiana enjoy the Indianapolis anchors, because after this year, that's all you'll be seeing from Bright House Networks. Currently, this sector of the world is in a rare scenario, as its local cable carrier offers locals from both Indianapolis and Fort Wayne. Sadly, the Fort Wayne NBC (WISE-TV) / ABC (WPTA-TV) affiliates will be done away with after December 31st, and BHN's president of Indiana operations says the decision was based on how skewed the ratings were in the direction of Indy's locals. Not all is doom and gloom, however, as the MLB Network will join HD versions of The Weather Channel, Travel Channel, USA, FX and SciFi in the Grant County EPG next month. Six steps forward, two steps back? Deal.

Yule Log, new holiday films come to HD VOD on Comcast, Cox and TWC


Ah, is it that time of year again already? Seems like just yesterday that we were kicking back in our sofa, wondering how the New Year would treat HD DVD and sipping a hot cocoa while enjoying the faux warmth of an HD Yule Log. This year, iN DEMAND's high-def version of the famed Christmas classic will be coming to HD VOD systems on Comcast, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks. In addition, iN DEMAND has created two other holiday offerings for viewers to enjoy in Winter Green and Snowman, both of which were filmed with HD cameras and are to be presented in 1080i with 5.1-channel audio. The fun begins nationwide on December 8th; full release is after the break.

[Image courtesy of ByrdHouse]

LIN TV and Time Warner Cable strike a retransmission deal


This is one of those rare cases where the headline tells all: TWC and LIN TV have finally agreed to put their differences aside and strike a retransmission deal. In other words, those 17 LIN TV-owned local stations that have been dark for the past few weeks should be back online at any moment. LIN TV's President and Chief Executive Officer Vincent L. Sadusky was quoted as saying that it was "pleased to have reached a fair market agreement with Time Warner Cable," and he continued by calling the deal "a mutually acceptable economic agreement." While we can't imagine he said that with a straight face, we're just glad you folks won't have to rely on any more EPG trickery to watch the (possible) final game of the World Series tonight. Or tomorrow. Or whenever Philadelphia decides to stop acting like Siberia.


[Image courtesy of Britannica, thanks Dayton Guy and Brian]

Bright House bigwig acknowledges complaints about Mystro Digital Navigator

Finally, someone inside sees the light. According to quotes from a recent interview with Craig Saari, Bright House's senior director of engineering, he realizes that the Mystro Digital Navigator is patently awful, though he doesn't really have a good reason why Passport was ditched in favor of something that is almost universally despised. After the aforesaid software was rolled out en masse last week in Central Florida, hordes of customers are yelping that more functionality has been lost than gained, and even Saari confessed that the Mystro is much slower to respond to remote inputs. All that being true, the question beckons: "Why?" Why on Earth are providers like BHN and Time Warner Cable switching out the antiquated (but perfectly usable) Passport application for something that's entirely worse? We suppose we'll never know the truth, but at least BHN customers have someone, somewhere working to make things better. Or so they say.

Update: So it's possible the new software was implemented for tru2way support. Makes sense, but it doesn't ease the pain of suckage.




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