Mediacom posts
We've always heard that good things come in threes, and apparently Mediacom is sticking by that mantra. After adding a pair of trifectas in December, the carrier has just tossed in SPEED HD, FOOD HD and HGTV HD in Iowa, giving local viewers all the high-def racing, cooking and homemaking they can handle. If it has to be Monday, at least it's a Monday with new HD channels.
While we genuinely feel for the HD junkies in Springfield, Missouri who are on a 200-person deep waiting list for an HD DVR, we can't help but smile at the news. Even during these bizarre economic times, the value in high-def programming is obviously shining through. Mediacom Region Operations VP Larry Peterson was quoted as saying that HD DVRs "are the holy grail right now; we've got three different manufacturers we use to try to get the boxes available and it just seems as soon as we get them in, they go out." In related news, the carrier will also be adding in eight new high-def channels on December 17th: WGN, TBS, CNN, SciFi, A&E, History, HGTV, and Food Network. Might explain the uptick in demand, wouldn't you say?tv.jpg)
Earlier this month, Comcast announced that it would be boosting cable rates by around 4.6%. Now, Mediacom is joining the fun by pumping up the prices in various locales around the country. We're seeing a number of local news outlets putting out information that the carrier will be raising rates in their neck of the woods, with Cedar Rapids, Iowa expecting a 7.2% increase on its mainstay Family Cable package next month. Additionally, the greater Quad Cities area will see a similar change beginning in mid-November, and everyone in Princeton / Caldwell County, Kentucky will be paying more in a few weeks as well. We guess someone has to pay for all those huge HD expansions, right? At least we're only half kidding there.20, now that's a sizable figure. Mediacom is fixing to switch off its analog service and move to all-digital in the Cadiz, Kentucky region, and with that will come quite a few new high-def channels. The carrier is already warning folks that they'll need an internal ATSC tuner or digital set-top-box to receive programming after November 19th, and on that same day, the new high-definition stations will hit the EPG as well. No word on what exactly those channels will be, but surely you'll find one or two out of 20 you can enjoy.
Sinclair and Time Warner have finally reached an agreement that will let the cable provider broadcast HDTV signals from Sinclair-owned affiliate stations. We've been getting reports from HDTV owners in Ohio, Wisconsin and other areas that Sinclair owned stations are showing up in all their HD glory -- too late for the BCS National Championship and last year's Super Bowl -- but better late than never. Still ongoing is the broadcaster's Iowa-centered battle with Mediacom, where affected stations have been dropped entirely from the cable lineup pending an agreement between the two companies. After coming to a "mutually acceptable economic agreement" four year agreement with TW, we'll see if Sinclair and Mediacom work things out, the FCC gets involved, or if this tiff continues to drag on interminably.
[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Read - High-def versions of Channels 18 and 24 finally coming to cable
Read - Sinclair Announces Analog and Digital Carraige Agreement with Time Warner Cable
Read - Lawmakers tell Mediacom, Sinclair to settle
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