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Time Warner Cable Expands Budget ‘TV Essentials’ Package Across the East Coast

Phillip Dampier September 22, 2011 Consumer News, Online Video 6 Comments

Time Warner Cable plans to expand its budget-priced TV Essentials package market-tested in New York City and northeastern Ohio across the east coast over the next several weeks in an effort to reduce video package cord-cutting.

Rob Marcus, president and chief operating officer at Time Warner Cable made the announcement Wednesday at a Goldman Sachs-sponsored investor conference.

The package delivers a largely sports-free experience, deleting expensive ESPN and other sports-specific networks from the lineup.  News channels are limited to networks from CNN, and while HGTV is included, Food Network is not (although you can watch the Cooking Channel to get by).

With Time Warner Cable customers now paying an average of $73.50 a month for television service, a package priced between $30-40 may help keep income-challenged consumers from canceling service.  But it is unlikely to reduce cord-cutting among those switching to online viewing.  Time Warner Cable does not heavily promote the package, instead pitching it on a targeted basis, especially to those who call to disconnect service.

Every little bit helps, says Marcus.

“We’ve been challenging ourselves to design an offering that might be more attractive and affordable to those customers who might not be able to handle the full packages,” Marcus said. “The numbers are still pretty small, but the results are sufficiently encouraging that we’re going to roll that out more broadly.”

In northeast Ohio, the TV Essentials package includes all local broadcast channels, public, educational, and government channels, and these cable networks:

A&E AMC Animal Planet BET
Biography Boomerang Bravo CNN
Cartoon Channel Centric Cooking Channel Discovery
Disney ESPNews fX FitTV
G4 Great American Country Game Show Network Gospel Music
HGTV Headline News Home Shopping Net Hallmark Channel
History Channel I-Life (Halogen) Inspiration Jewelry TV
Lifetime MTV Military Channel Nickelodeon
Nick Jr. QVC Shop NBC TBS
TV Guide Channel TV One Teen Nick USA
VH1
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James R Curry
James R Curry
12 years ago

I believe “Local broadband channels” should read “Local broadcast channels”?

gyro
gyro
12 years ago

$40 for a load of crap channels I don’t watch now. What a deal. There’s no more that 5, I ever watch.

Ben
Ben
12 years ago
Reply to  gyro

I LOVE the idea of telling these sports networks to shove it! This is a good first step at breaking up program tying.

kim
kim
11 years ago

the best thing they ever done thank good ness i don,t have to payto see espn sports fox newschannles i don,t watch

Dano.
Dano.
11 years ago

They do not have SiFi on the list here.
No thanks…..

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