Spectrum cable television customers with Silver or Gold tiers will find two premium channels have disappeared from channel lineups, with no corresponding decrease in rates.

This hidden rate increase took effect Feb. 15 after Spectrum dropped Cinemax from its Silver and Gold packages and EPIX from its Gold package, with little explanation. Customers have been notified they can acquire these channels a-la-carte, for an additional $9.99/mo for Cinemax and $5.99/mo for EPIX.

The premium network cutbacks were originally planned to be significantly worse, however, after Charter Communications notified some customers it was also planning to delete Starz and Encore from its Gold tier, potentially making the $40 add-on not worth the price. Just days before the changes were to take effect, Charter changed its mind about Starz and Encore, allowing those channels will continue to be available as part of the Gold package.

Some customers are upset about the changes.

“It’s a hidden rate hike,” complained Lois Blumenthal. “We are still paying the same price for Silver or Gold, only getting fewer channels for it.”

Spectrum customer service appeared to be sensitive to customer complaints and threats to downgrade cable TV service, which would only increase the impact of cord-cutting. So the company is offering a hidden deal to current customers who subscribed to Silver or Gold TV tiers before Feb. 15 and who call 1-855-70-SPECTRUM to share their displeasure about the changes:

• Silver Plan customers qualify for one year of Cinemax at no charge, after which the network will cost $9.99/month.
• Gold Plan customers qualify for one year of Cinemax -and- one year of EPIX at no charge, after which Cinemax will cost $9.99/mo and EPIX will cost $5.99/mo.

Customers can ask about these promotions when they call. While no expiration date was available on these offers, it makes sense to call sooner rather than later in case they disappear.

It could have been worse. Spectrum notified many of its subscribers the premium network cutbacks originally envisioned also included Starz and Encore. Charter changed its mind, but it was too late to stop notifying some subscribers about the channel deletions.

Spectrum has adjusted its advertising:

Spectrum Silver (includes TV Select — add $20 a month)

• 175+ cable channels with FREE HD
• Includes HBO, SHOWTIME & NFL Network
• On-the-go with HBO GO, SHOWTIME ANYTIME
• Enjoy thousands of On Demand choices to watch when & where you want
• Watch on your Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox One, tablet, smartphone or visit SpectrumTV.com
• Download 80+ network apps and take on-the-go

Spectrum Gold (includes TV Select and TV Silver — add $40 a month)

• 200+ cable channels with FREE HD
• Includes HBO, SHOWTIME, STARZ, TMC, ENCORE, NFL Network & NFL Redzone
• Enjoy thousands of On Demand choices to watch when & where you want
• Watch on your Apple TV, Samsung Smart TV, Roku, Xbox One, tablet, smartphone or visit SpectrumTV.com
• Download 80+ network apps and take on-the-go

For all Spectrum customers, the cost of adding most premium add-on channels a-la-carte (without a promotion) decreased effective Feb. 15:

• HBO remains unchanged at $15/mo
• Showtime remains unchanged at $15/mo
• Starz was $15, decreasing to $9.99
• Encore was $15, decreasing to $5.99
• Cinemax was $15, decreasing to $9.99
• TMC was $15, decreasing to $9.99
• EPIX was $15, decreasing to $5.99

Epix, the newest premium movie channel on the block, is giving up on exclusive pay television distribution and has launched a new $5.99/mo direct-to-consumer subscription service, beating anticipated services from AT&T WarnerMedia and Disney.

Epix Now streaming subscribers will have access to “thousands of movies” and original series, with full download availability and a growing catalog of titles available for 4K/Ultra HD streaming.

Epix, now wholly owned by MGM, has struggled to attract subscribers from its traditional cable and satellite TV partners, as consumers ditch premium channels to reduce their bill or drop cable TV service altogether. Charter Communications recently dropped Epix from Spectrum’s bundled pay television tier, now requiring customers to buy the network a-la-carte, likely resulting in a dramatic loss of subscribers.

Epix Now is currently available with a 7-day free trial on Apple TV, as well as iOS and Android phones and tablets, and is expected to arrive soon for Roku and Amazon Fire TV owners. The service is also sold through The Roku Channel, but will shortly be transitioned to a standalone app on that platform.

Launched in October 2009, Epix began as a partnership between MGM, Lionsgate, and Viacom. It was known for airing movies more quickly after leaving theaters than its competitors. But the network has been limited by a lack of exclusivity to first-run content from larger studios. Lionsgate largely lost interest in Epix after acquiring competing premium movie service Starz in mid-2016. A year later, Viacom made it known it wanted to exit the venture to concentrate on Showtime, its primary pay television network, and use the sale proceeds to pay down Viacom’s high debt load.

Across the country, Time Warner Cable subscribers are losing access to RT – Russia Today, just as tensions rise between governments in Moscow and Kiev.

The 24-hour news and information channel funded by the Kremlin’s Federal Agency on Press and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation, provides news and views from across Russia, as well as a full schedule of international affairs and political/opinion programming, some produced in the United States. The network has been the subject of criticism for its coverage, which some believe is biased in favor of the Putin government’s world view.

Some Time Warner Cable systems dropped the network in January, but others are switching the network off this month. Time Warner Cable did not announce the channel drop in upstate New York and has no explanation for the reason the network was discontinued.

Customers still interested in watching the network can find a live stream of RT available free of charge on the network’s website.

The loss of RT will not result in a lower cable bill. Time Warner Cable recently added Al Jazeera America to most of its cable systems and is planning to add a number of new channels this month:

• Liquidation Channel: A 24/7 home shopping and auction channel featuring jewelry and accessories;
• EPIX: A premium movie channel. TWC will add: EPIX1 East, EPIX1 EAST HD, EPIX1 West, EPIX1 WEST HD, EPIX 2, EPIX 2 HD, EPIX 3, EPIX 3 HD and EPIX Drive-In March 18;
• TWC Sportsnet Los Angeles SD & HD arrives at the end of this month;
• TVG: A horse racing and online horse betting network. Coming April 1;
• Vivid TV: A hardcore porn channel featuring titles produced by studio Vivid Entertainment

As a result of Time Warner Cable’s final agreement with Viacom that put to bed last summer’s dispute with CBS, Time Warner Cable agreed to a nationwide launch of Viacom’s premium movie network EPIX. The network will arrive in subscribers’ homes on March 18.

Time Warner will launch a four channel multiplex including EPIX, EPIX 2, EPIX 3, and EPIX Drive-In, giving all digital basic customers a three-month free preview and a $4.99 subscription offer when the preview ends.

A joint venture between Viacom, Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios and Lionsgate, EPIX offers more than 15,000 motion pictures spanning the libraries of partner studios. EPIX will deliver films from Paramount, Paramount Vantage, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies released theatrically on or after January 1, 2008 and MGM, United Artists and Lionsgate titles released theatrically on or after January 1, 2009, which will be available exclusively to its subscribers.

In addition to its linear television channels, EPIX also offers subscribers on-demand access to its library through home computers and a variety of mobile and set-top streaming video devices at no extra cost. Those interested in a 14 day free trial can sample EPIX online by registering here.

Verizon Communications plans to introduce its own standalone streaming video service that will compete head-to-head with Netflix, according to a breaking, exclusive report from the Reuters news service.

The phone company is said to be in negotiations with several programming partners that could make available popular movies and television shows on the service, which would be sold exclusively in areas not wired for Verizon’s fiber-to-the-home service FiOS, starting early next year.

Netflix stock once again took a pounding on the news, down as much as 5%.  Netflix has experienced serious challenges in its transition to a streaming service, including intransigent programmers who want to be paid considerably more to extend licensing deals.  Netflix has been forced to raise prices and split its DVD rental and streaming plans, provoking anger among subscribers.

Reuters reports the service will have a limited offering from the outset, perhaps picking up expiring contracts Netflix had with Liberty Media’s Starz Play and Viacom’s Epix.  Epix includes titles from Paramount, Lions Gate and MGM, and is set to expire at Netflix next September.

Verizon is said to be interested in expanding its services beyond its FiOS customer base to obtain better rates from programmers.  The more subscribers with access to your service, the better the volume discount.  By limiting the new movie service to non-FiOS areas, Verizon will protect from cannibalizing customers from its own fiber network while opening the door to lower per-subscriber costs for programming.

Analysts say the deal will likely be closer in comparison to Amazon’s limited streaming service, available at no charge to its Amazon Prime customers.  Netflix has a broader catalog of online titles.  But they expect Verizon to price the service competitively with Netflix to attract customers and compete for similar programming rights.

Verizon may repackage content originally intended for the standalone streaming service for its existing FiOS customers under a TV Everywhere concept, meaning the programming would be accessible to FiOS subscribers who maintain video subscriptions with the phone company, perhaps without any additional charges.

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Netflix stock is still being pounded, now even more so after Verizon’s announcement it is entering their business space.  Will Netflix ultimately be sold to a bigger player to survive?  CNBC investigates.  (4 minutes)

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The Wall Street Journal digs into Verizon’s video announcement, and how it will likely impact Netflix and the online video marketplace.  With a programming bidding war, customers may actually end up paying more for online video.  (5 minutes)