Warning: public access channels move to digital tier Tuesday, Sept. 16

September 12, 2008
by Christine Yeres

Just as a batch of ten Cablevision channels, including C-Span’s Book TV, shifted last spring from analog to digital-only, so too, the “PEG” channels – “public, educational and government,” 75, 77 and 78 – will follow suit and move to digital-only on September 16, 2008. That means they will only be available on televisions that have a digital cable box, at $6.50 per box, per month.

Act now: Cablevision’s offer of a free digital box for one year ends soon

If you are an existing Cablevision subscriber and notify Cablevision by October 16 that you need a digital box, the cable company will provide one additional box, free, for one year. If, however, as an existing customer, you request more than one additional box, you cannot receive even one box free. And new customers will not be offered the free box at all.

If you are already a Cablevision customer, to notify Cablevision that you would like to have one box free for one year, call 914-962-4444.  Be persistent.  Residents have reported that some phone operators at Cablevision are not aware of the free box offer.

Cablevision difficult to deal with

Cablevision has declined to negotiate a contract with the town of New Castle for the last four years, preferring to operate under “temporary operating authority” granted by New York State’s Public Service Commission in six month intervals. The town of New Castle has asked New York State’s Public Service Commission to examine Cablevision’s actions in moving the PEG channels to digital, since under the town’s existing franchise with Cablevision—still in effect because it has not yet been renegotiated—the PEG channels should continue to be offered on the most basic tier.

Customers who switched to Verizon surprised to find no PEG channels  

Although its contract with the town requires that Verizon provide public access, or PEG, channels once it begins to offer its cable product to residents, channels 75, 77 and 78 are still not available to Verizon customers. Verizon expects to broadcast the PEG channels by the end of September, but they will all be in digital, as are all of Verizon’s channels.

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