[Editor’s Note: Federal Communications Commission chairman Thomas Wheeler today released a compromise proposal hoping to get the cost of set-top box equipment down for millions of Americans forced to lease equipment to watch cable television.

Wheeler originally proposed requiring an open standard for set-top box equipment that would open the market to competition by allowing manufacturers to directly sell equipment to consumers and compete for their business. Cable operators, programmers, and various special interest groups that depend on financial contributions from those operators immediately launched an unprecedented pushback claiming set-top box reform was racist, anti-minority, promoted copyright theft, and was illegal and unconstitutional. Small cable operators claimed they might be driven out of business, and programmers claimed companies like Google might fundamentally change the channel lineup on new equipment that would leave them in a disadvantaged position.

In fact, the hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue earned by cable operators charging the same price for equipment fresh out of the box or handed down in beat up condition to the fifth customer in eight years was more likely the driving factor.

Mr. Wheeler capitulated and released a more modest proposal promising cable operators would be forced to offer free “apps” for devices like Roku and Apple TV. But cable operators will likely own and manage those apps and have direct control of authentication methods and anti-piracy measures that are likely to be proprietary. Still, apps like TWC TV which covers Time Warner Cable’s lineup on devices like Roku have allowed consumers to ditch expensive set-top equipment and irritating Digital Adapters that don’t function well and have almost tripled in price since their introduction. Making sure these apps provide comparable functionality with set-top boxes and are released to a variety of devices will be key to whether Wheeler’s proposal, delivered in full below courtesy of the Los Angeles Times, has a measurable impact on cable bills.]

FCC chairman: Here are the new proposed rules for set-top boxes

There’s never been a better time to watch television in America. We have more options than ever, and, with so much competition for eyeballs, studios and artists keep raising the bar for quality content. But when it comes to the set-top-box that delivers our pay-TV subscriptions, we have essentially no options, creating headaches and costing us serious money in rental fees. That makes no sense, which is why I’m sharing a proposal with my fellow commissioners at the Federal Communications Commission to change the system.

Wheeler’s compromise

Ninety-nine percent of pay-TV subscribers currently lease set-top boxes from their cable, satellite or telecommunications provider, paying an average of $231 a year for the privilege, according to a recent analysis. The collective tab is $20 billion annually in rental fees. In a recent study, 84% of consumers felt their cable bill was too high. What they may not realize is that every bill includes an add-on fee for their set-top boxes. We keep paying these charges even after the cost of the box has been recovered because we have no meaningful alternative.

Pay-TV providers will be required to provide apps — free of charge — that consumers can download to the device of their choosing.
Earlier this year, the FCC launched a process to unlock the set-top-box marketplace. We were motivated by the desire to give consumers relief, but we were also mandated to take action by Congress and the law, which says that consumers should be able to choose their preferred device to access pay-TV programming.
Over the past seven months, the Commission conducted an open proceeding where we heard from pay-TV providers, programmers, device and software manufacturers, consumers groups, and, most important, the American people. We listened.

Now, I am proposing rules that would end the set-top-box stranglehold. If adopted, consumers will no longer have to rent a set-top box, month after month. Instead, pay-TV providers will be required to provide apps – free of charge– that consumers can download to the device of their choosing to access all the programming and features they already paid for.

If you want to watch Comcast’s content through your Apple TV or Roku, you can. If you want to watch DirectTV’s offerings through your Xbox, you can. If you want to pipe Verizon’s service directly to your smart TV, you can. And if you want to watch your current pay-TV package on your current set-top box, you can do that, too. The choice is yours. No longer will you be forced to rent set-top boxes from your pay-TV provider.

One of the biggest benefits consumers will see is integrated search. The rules would require all pay-TV providers to enable the ability for consumers to search for pay-TV content alongside other sources of content. Just type in the name of a movie, and a list will come up with all the places it is scheduled for broadcast and where it can be streamed (like Amazon Prime or Hulu).

Integrated search also means expanded access to programming created by independent and diverse voices on the same platform as your pay-TV providers. Consumers will more easily find content even if it’s not on the pay-TV service to which they subscribe.

These rules will open the door for innovation, spurring new apps and devices, giving consumers even more choice and user control.

While our primary focus during this proceeding was to promote consumer choice and fulfill our congressional mandate, we recognize that protecting the legitimate copyright interests of content creators is also key to serving the public interest. To ensure that all copyright and licensing agreements will remain intact, the delivery of pay-TV programming will continue to be overseen by pay-TV providers from end-to-end. The proposed rules also maintain important protections regarding emergency alerting, accessibility and privacy.

Large pay-TV providers, which serve more than 90% of subscribers, will have two years to fully implement the new requirements.  Medium-sized providers will have an additional two years to comply, and the smallest providers would be exempt.

This is a golden era for watching television and video. By empowering consumers to access their content on their terms, it’s about to get cheaper — and even better.

As the Sept. 20 date for Charter’s introduction of new plans for Time Warner Cable customers in California looms, the Los Angeles Times published an impenetrable channel change notification applying to customers across San Diego and Los Angeles markets (the latter also being a significant service area for Charter all along).

We dare you to read it.

More accessible lists of channel changes were also published for Texas customers, and you can find them below the massive text box.

Legacy Charter customers will benefit because the smaller cable operator is taking advantage of the much larger volume discounts Time Warner Cable negotiated for both their customers and those belonging to Bright House Networks. That means you can eventually expect a lot more harmonization of channel lineups if you are an existing Charter customer, probably more in line with what Time Warner Cable customers have received all along. One interesting addition that may be coming back to Time Warner Cable customers is the former HDNet, now rebranded AXS TV. Time Warner Cable gave HDNet and HDNet Movies the boot back in May 2009 when contract negotiations broke down over price. In its place, Time Warner Cable added much cheaper networks like MavTV, The Outdoor Channel, RFD-TV and/or The Sportsman Channel.

There is speculation Charter chose Texas and Southern California first to introduce Charter Spectrum because the two cable companies have co-existed nearby in both states, sometimes operating in their own territories in the same metropolitan region. That may have made integration efforts easier than in states like New York, where Charter operates only a few forgettable cable systems, some now only being upgraded to support broadband.

Legal Notices: Time Warner Cable’s agreements with programmers and broadcasters to carry their services and stations routinely expire from time to time. We are usually able to obtain renewals or extensions of such agreements, but in order to comply with applicable regulations, we must inform you when an agreement is about to expire. The following agreements are due to expire soon, and we may be required to cease carriage of one or more of these services/stations in the near future. 5 StarMax East, ActionMax, Azteca America, Cinemax, Cinemax East, Cinemax On Demand, GMA LifeTV, GMA PinoyTV, HBO, HBO 2, HBO 2 East, HBO Comedy, HBO East, HBO Family, HBO Latino, HBO On Demand, HBO Signature, HBO Signature East, HBO Zone, Max Latino, MoreMax, MoreMax East, MovieMax East, Music Choice, Outdoor Channel, POP, TeleN, ThrillerMax, TV One, YouToo, KBEH DT7 Tele-Romantica, KEYT ABC. In addition, from time to time we make certain changes in the services that we offer in order to better serve our customers. The following changes are planned: On or around September 20, 2016 the following changes will be made. The following services will added: AXS TV, channel 299; One World Sports, channel 414; SonLife Broadcasting Network channel 470; Retroplex, channel 622; HD Net Movies, channel 640; Cable Noticias, channel 839; ULTRA Docu, channel 849; Tele El Salvador, channel 861; Super Canal, channel 870; Telemicro, channel 871; TV Dominicana, channel 872; WAPA America, channel 874; Antena 3 Internacional, channel 877; Ritmoson, channel 911; Telehit, channel 912; Ultra Fiesta, channel 915; Ultra Familia, channel 918; Ultra Kidz, channel 919; Semillitas, channel 922; BabyFirstTV SAP, channel 928; Baby TV SAP, channel 929; Nat Geo Mundo, channel 931; HITN, channel 933; Mexicanal, channel 935; El Garage TV, channel 936; Ultra Macho, channel 937; TBN Enlace, channel 946; Ultra Mex, channel 983; Ultra Cine, channel 984; Ultra Clasico, channel 985; Crime & Investigation, channel 137; pivot, channel 115; Family Net, channel 468; MoviePlex, channel 620; IndiePlex, channel 621; RFD-TV, channel 297; Lifetime Real Women, channel 174; Military History Channel, channel 141. Additionally, in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach the following services will be added on the channel number listed. Estudio 5 842, Multimedios 843, Teleformula 845, Sur Peru 853, TV Chile 855, Caracol 856, Nuestra Tele 857, Centroamerica TV 860, Ecuavisa Internacional 865, TV Venezuela 867, Bandamax 910, Discovery Familia 924, AYM Sports 962, Cine Mexicano 972, De Pelicula Clasico 979, De Pelicula 980 and Viendo Movies 982. The following services will be added on the additional channel number listed. Each will also remain on the current channel number. Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley and Hemet: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96 and SEC Network 97. Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino and Rialto: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96, SEC Network 97, Oxygen 98 and LMN 99. Temecula: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, GSN 96 and SEC Network 97. San Bernardino – Ontario: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 34, FOX Sports 1 50, Investigation Discovery 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and Oxygen 98. San Gabriel Valley: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95 and SEC Network 97. Anaheim: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 31, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, GSN 94, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and TCM 99. Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana: Animal Planet 10, NBCSN 20, Investigation Discovery 52, FOX Sports 1 54, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93 and SEC Network 94. Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base: NBCSN 35, Investigation Discovery 76, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 96, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Santa Clarita (East) & Tujunga: Investigation Discovery 44, NBCSN 59, National Geographic 68, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Beverly Hills: WGN America 16, NBCSN 69, Investigation Discovery 95, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 96, SEC Network 97 and Animal Planet 98. Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles: Animal Planet 10, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 70, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. Calabasas: Animal Planet 10, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 50, Disney Junior 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 97 and GSN 98. City of Los Angeles and Marina Del Rey: Animal Planet 10, WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 34, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96 and SEC Network 97. East San Fernando Valley: Animal Planet 10, WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 34, Oxygen 52, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96 and SEC Network 98. West Hollywood: WGN America 16, Animal Planet 20, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, SEC Network 96 and Investigation Discovery 98. Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, Oxygen 97 and SEC Network 99. Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 94, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, Oxygen 97 and SEC Network 99. Oxnard & Port Hueneme: Animal Planet 12, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 94, SEC Network 96 and Oxygen 97. Ventura: Animal Planet 12, FOX Sports 1 44, Investigation Discovery 50, NBCSN 69, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 94, SEC Network 99, BBC America 96, and Oxygen 97. Hollywood – Westchester and Inglewood: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97, SEC Network 98 and GSN on 99. Claremont: Cartoon Network 57, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, BBC America 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Homeland & Romoland: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, TCM 94, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97, SEC Network 98 and GSN on 99. Costa Mesa: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, BBC America 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Tustin: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, GSN 94, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Artesia: Cartoon Network 57, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Fox Business Network 86, Animal Planet 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Bell & Cudahy: Fox Business 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Carson: Fox Business Network 36, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, BBC America 86, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Cypress & La Palma: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, SEC Network 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Harbor, Lomita: Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96 and Velocity 97. Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, BBC America 87, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, Velocity 97 and SEC Network 98. Lakewood: Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, Velocity 97 and NBCSN 98. South El Monte: Fox Business Network 35, Investigation Discovery 71, National Geographic 75, Animal Planet 78, Disney Junior 87, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, FOX Sports 1 95, NBCSN 96, SEC Network 98 and GSN 99. Canyon Country and Santa Clarita & Stevenson Ranch: NBCSN 34, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, SEC Network 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 95, BBC America 96 and GSN 97. San Fernando: NBCSN 34, WGN America 35, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, SEC Network 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, Disney Junior 95, BBC America 96 and GSN 97. West Valley: WGN America 35, Fox Business Network 66, Investigation Discovery 67, National Geographic 69, Animal Planet 76, FOX Sports 1 78, Velocity 79, NBCSN 80, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, and BBC America 96. Orange County: National Geographic 72, Investigation Discovery 73, GSN 74, Animal Planet 75, SEC Network 76, NBCSN 77, Velocity 78, FOX Sports 1 79, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92 and FX Movie Channel 93. Torrance: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 66, Animal Planet 71, National Geographic 72, NBCSN 77, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91 and Velocity 92. South Bay: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 66, Animal Planet 71, National Geographic 72, NBCSN 77, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, Velocity 92 and FX Movie Channel. San Marino & South Pasadena: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 59, National Geographic 72, Animal Planet 75,NBCSN 77, Velocity 78, FOX Sports 1 79, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93 and Fox Business Network 95. Santa Monica: WGN America 16, Investigation Discovery 59, Animal Planet 71, NBCSN 75, Velocity 79, Fox Business Network 80, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, FOX Sports 1 95, BBC America 96, SEC Network 96 and SEC Network 97. Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach: WGN America 20, Investigation Discovery 54, Animal Planet 61, NBCSN 69, FOX Sports 1 72, Velocity 77, Fox Business Network 86, Hallmark Channel 88, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries 89, INSP 90, OWN 91, WE tv 92, FX Movie Channel 93, BBC America 95, Disney Junior 96 and GSN 97. EVINE Live will move from channel 15 to channel 194 in Beverly Hills, Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles, Calabasas, City of Los Angeles, East San Fernando Valley, Marina Del Rey and West Hollywood. It will move from 16 to 194 in South Bay and Torrance. It will move from 20 to 194 in Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino; Bradbury, Glendora, La Verna, San Dimas; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; Hemet – Temecula; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley; Rialto; San Bernardino – Ontario and San Gabriel Valley. It will move from 24 to 194 in San Marino & South Pasadena. It will move from 28 to 194 in Artesia, Bell & Cudahy, Carson, Cypress & La Palma, Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities and South El Monte. It will move from 29 to 194 in Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook and South Los Angeles. It will move from 31 to 194 in Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hollywood – Westchester and Inglewood. It will move from 33 to 194 in Lakewood, Santa Clarita (East) and Tujunga. It will move from 36 to 194 in Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula; Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks; Claremont; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Homeland & Romoland; Oxnard & Port Hueneme; Simi Valley; Tustin and Ventura. It will move from 37 to 194 in Orange County. It will move from 38 to 194 in Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base. It will move from 39 to 194 in Anaheim, Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda and in Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana. It will move from 42 to 194 in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch; San Fernando and West Valley. It will move from 45 to 194 in Santa Monica. It will move from 49 to 194 in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach. It will also remain on 487 in all lineups. HSN will move from 8 and 81 to 176 in Artesia; Bell & Cudahy; Carson; Claremont; Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Cypress & La Palma; Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities; Hollywood – Westchester; Homeland & Romoland; Inglewood; Lakewood; South El Monte; South Los Angeles, Santa Clarita (East), Tujunga and Tustin. In all other lineups it will move from 81 to 176. It will also remain on 483 in all lineups. QVC will move from 6 to 159 in Antelope Valley & Edwards Air Force Base; Artesia; Bell & Cudahy; Carson; Claremont; Compton, Athens, Florence & Willowbrook; Costa Mesa; Covina, Pomona, Corona & Riverside County; Cypress & La Palma; Harbor, Lomita, Harbor City, San Pedro, Wilmington; Hawaiian Gardens – Southeast Cities; Hollywood – Westchester; Homeland & Romoland; Inglewood; Lakewood; South El Monte; South Los Angeles and Tustin. It will move from 14 to 159 in Agoura-Moorpark-Santa Paula; Air Force Village West – Lakeview – Perris; Anaheim; Beaumont-Redlands-East San Bernardino; Beverly Hills; Boyle Heights, East Los Angeles; Bradbury, Glendora, La Verna, San Dimas; Brea, La Habra, La Habra Heights, Yorba Linda; Buena Park, Fullerton, Newport Beach, Santa Ana; Calabasas; Camarillo, Newbury Park, Thousand Oaks; Chino – Pomona – San Bernardino County; City of Los Angeles; East San Fernando Valley; Hemet – Temecula; Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach & Redondo Beach; March Air Force Base & Moreno Valley; Marina Del Rey; Oxnard & Port Hueneme; Rialto; San Bernardino – Ontario; San Gabriel Valley; Santa Monica; Simi Valley, Ventura and West Hollywood. It will move from 24 to 159 in Santa Clarita (East) and Tujunga. It will move from 39 to 159 in Canyon Country, Santa Clarita, Stevenson Ranch. It will move from 48 to 159 in Orange County. It will move from 51 to 159 in South Bay and Torrance. It will move from 68 to 159 in San Marino & South Pasadena. It will move from 98 to 159 in San Fernando and West Valley. It will also remain on 480 in all lineups. Jewelry Television will move from 83 to 188 in all lineups. I will also remain on channel 499.

Texas customers: Selected channel notification announcements begin after the jump.
… Continue Reading

Thanks to one of our readers who also happens to be a TWC employee, here is the latest update to Charter/Spectrum’s list of first year promotions, taking effect in California and Texas (9/20) this month.

We expect it will be rolling out to other TWC and BH regions over the next few months. Unless you are compelled to change packages, if you are on a current Time Warner Cable or Bright House promotion or retention deal, we recommend you keep it until it expires. You can then enroll in one of these promotions, almost certainly at these prices, extending the length of your savings.

We expect Charter’s retention department to deliver a tougher line on retention packages and promotions than Time Warner Cable gave customers. Once these promotional prices expire, your rates will step up each year for two years thereafter until you reach the “rack rate” — Charter’s regular pricing. Your ability to secure new customer pricing again will probably require you to bounce between providers or cancel/come back as a new customer. I am told by long-time Charter customers that Charter’s retention prices are usually not as good as new customer pricing.

We have some corrections to our earlier coverage on this last month: broadband-only customers will pay a promotional rate of $39.99 a month for the first year for 60Mbps service, $79.99 a month for 100Mbps service (100Mbps or 300Mbps in existing TWC Maxx territories), not the $60/99 rack rate. We have received word Earthlink will continue to be another option for customers to consider for broadband service, which can be a good way to secure extended promotional pricing. Another change: phone service is now an extra $10 a month, not $20, as part of a triple play package. We notice Charter only lists free calling to U.S. numbers on this sheet. Time Warner Cable includes free calls to Canada, Mexico, China, Hong Kong, India, The EU, Norway and U.S. territories. We are unsure if this represents an omission or a downgrade. Also, the Wi-Fi fee is waived for Spectrum Ultra, which corrects our earlier piece where we thought this fee would apply to both broadband packages. Multi-DVR service pricing is still confusing on this chart. We’ve heard Charter intends to ditch TWC’s Whole House DVR service and give subscribers the option of multiple standalone DVR units instead. DVR pricing is: $4.99 for each DVR box + an $11.99 DVR service fee (if you have only one DVR). If you want multiple DVRs, they are each $4.99 a month with an all-inclusive monthly service fee of $19.99, regardless of how many extra DVR boxes you rent.

Obviously, we will be looking for money-saving opportunities for our readers once we get a better handle on Charter’s way of doing business.

Only half of CenturyLink’s customers in well-populated areas formerly served by Qwest can buy broadband service at 40Mbps or higher, while rural customers fare considerably worse with less than 25% able to get High Speed Internet at those speeds.

Customers have noticed and at least 65,000 canceled their broadband service with the phone company in the second quarter of this year, most presumably switching to their area’s cable operator.

“CenturyLink is by far the most abysmal telephone company I’ve ever had to deal with and I’m 63 years old,” shares Glen Canby in Arizona. Canby is a retired telephone company engineer that spent 40 years with a larger phone company serving the midwestern U.S.  “Their reviews online echo my own experiences, which have ranged from being quoted one price while being billed another, being locked into a term contract you didn’t ask for, and getting only a fraction of the speed they claim to sell.”

Canby is counted as one of CenturyLink’s 40Mbps-qualified customers, yet he actually receives less than 6Mbps service.

But that isn’t what CenturyLink tells the Federal Communications Commission. In a semi-annual broadband deployment report, the company claimed 51 percent of their customers in urban and suburban former Qwest service areas can subscribe to 40Mbps DSL or higher. But whether a customer is “qualified” to buy 40Mbps service is not the same as actually getting the speeds the company markets.

CenturyLink attempts to cover their claims with fine print attached to their FCC submission: “The numbers shown in this chart reflect the percentages of households served by DSLAMs that are capable of providing the specified broadband speeds.” (A DSLAM is a network device typically used to extend faster DSL speeds to customers by reducing the amount of copper wiring between the telephone company’s central office and the customer’s home. Customers in a neighborhood typically share space on a DSLAM, in effect sharing a single connection back to the phone company.)

“That’s clever of them, because of course the DSLAM is just one link in the chain that ends with the ‘last mile’ between that equipment and my home, and that is where CenturyLink’s phone plant is at its weakest,” Canby writes. “I spent 20 years at a phone company dealing with last-mile DSL speed issues, so they cannot fool me.”

Canby blames the condition of CenturyLink’s infrastructure between the DSLAM serving him and his home for the problems, as well as overselling DSL service by packing too many customers onto a single DSLAM.

“It might be 40Mbps service at the remote end, but it drops to around 6Mbps on a good day by the time it reaches my house,” Canby complains. “Once the sun goes down, the speed drops to 3Mbps, which is a classic case of overselling to me because too many people are trying to share one connection at the same time. It has been this way since 2008 according to my neighbors.”

Back then, phone service was provided by Qwest, the former Baby Bell providing service in 14 sparsely populated western U.S. states — Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Qwest was acquired by CenturyLink in 2011.

CenturyLink has promised to improve broadband speeds for former Qwest customers, but much of what counts as progress has been in more urban areas, while rural customers continue to languish. The company admits just 21.9 percent of rural households can get 40Mbps service. Only 47.6% can buy 12Mbps, 61.3% can get 5Mbps, and 83% can subscribe to 1.5Mbps. That leaves 17% of former Qwest customers with no broadband options at all. CenturyLink did not break out the percentage of customers that meet the FCC’s 25Mbps minimum speed definition of broadband.

“This is why CenturyLink loses customers to cable operators who have no problems trying to deliver internet access over their network, because it was built to support more bandwidth,” Canby shares. “They can usually deliver the same internet speed to customers no matter how far out they live while phone companies deal with a network built for making phone calls, not data.”

Company officials recognize they could do better and have promised investors another 2.5 million customers will be able to reach 40Mbps by the end of 2017. By the end of the year after that, CenturyLink hopes to reach 85% of customers with VDSL2, bonding, and vectoring technology to achieve 40Mbps service for most customers in their top 25 markets. But rural customers are likely to left waiting longer because of the costs to upgrade Qwest’s copper-based network, especially in smaller states like Idaho, the Dakotas and Wyoming.

“The only answer is cable or fiber broadband, and if you live in a small community it could be years before CenturyLink gets around to you,” Canby writes. “If it’s the same story all over town, I’d start advocating for a community-owned fiber network and not sit around and wait for CenturyLink to act, especially if there is no cable company in town.”