It seems to me COX Cable is obcessed with infomercials. They use an all infomercial network as filler on Channel 96, the Leased Access Channel. They show infomercials on COX 15, the Public Access Channel 12AM-6AM, They Show hour after hour of infomercials (some are business spot lights) on Cox Sports TV, and as of this week, they have been cutting off WSAH TV 43 at 12AM and replacing it with a simulcast of whatever they're showing oin Channel 96 12AM-6AM.
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COX is obcessed with Infomercials
- Thread starter MarcB
- Start date
I just recently moved into an apartment complex that wont allow me to put up my Directv Satelite.Trust me I tried to convince them.
So, I have had Cox for about one month now with the DVR.I really don't care for it.I am missing "Chiller" a new channel offered by NBC and the sister network "Slueth". Chiller is all Horror and Sleuth is all cop and crime shows.
I do notice that all the lower tear channels that you would get in the basic line to the TV is overun by informercials and public access.Definiatly not worth the 45.00 a month.So you are forced to go to digital.In Rhode Island Verizon was given the thumbs up and as of this week can sell cable TV.I think most of Kent County is already wired for it.Next they will be moving into Johnston,North Providence and Providence stringing the wires for it.
Finally, COX has compitition in the Cable part of it.Over the past few years more and more Dishes are sprouting around the state because of Cox's prices.
So, I have had Cox for about one month now with the DVR.I really don't care for it.I am missing "Chiller" a new channel offered by NBC and the sister network "Slueth". Chiller is all Horror and Sleuth is all cop and crime shows.
I do notice that all the lower tear channels that you would get in the basic line to the TV is overun by informercials and public access.Definiatly not worth the 45.00 a month.So you are forced to go to digital.In Rhode Island Verizon was given the thumbs up and as of this week can sell cable TV.I think most of Kent County is already wired for it.Next they will be moving into Johnston,North Providence and Providence stringing the wires for it.
Finally, COX has compitition in the Cable part of it.Over the past few years more and more Dishes are sprouting around the state because of Cox's prices.
Speaking of this, 9 out of 10 times, the "public access" channels are nothing other than a complete lack of bandwidth! A combination of greed and politics ensure that some systems are stuck with as many as 3 or 4 of these channels that NEVER show anything worth watching. And, it is a problem with all cable systems - not just COX.
When I lived in Concord, NH, the city had 3 public access channels (only one of which ever showed anything). Lacking channel space, the system blew out an NBC affiliate from Lebanon/White River Jct. (WNNE-31) that everyone in surrounding towns had access to. It was part of the city's agreement with Comcast. So, you're often getting doubly screwed by politicians and by the cable system.
I really hope that FIOS isn't victimized by this kind of crap.
When I lived in Concord, NH, the city had 3 public access channels (only one of which ever showed anything). Lacking channel space, the system blew out an NBC affiliate from Lebanon/White River Jct. (WNNE-31) that everyone in surrounding towns had access to. It was part of the city's agreement with Comcast. So, you're often getting doubly screwed by politicians and by the cable system.
I really hope that FIOS isn't victimized by this kind of crap.
COX Public Access is horrible. My COX Franchise is 3 towns. Meriden, Southington, and Cheshire in Connectiuct.
1. First off there's no programming on Sundays.
2. Saturday programming is limited.
3. There are holes in the shedule, so they'll show the bulliten board.
4. The station has a lot of techniclal issues. Lots of times it'll say "A Loss of Video Service Has Occured on this Channel".
5. Sometimes the channel is missing all together.
6. Sometimes they'll forget the put the bulliten board back on after a show airs and we're treated to a blue screen or a Sony DVD Player Screen Saver.
7. Some of the shows they import from other Public Access systems are of poor quaility. Example they used to have a show from WIN-TV 5 the public access tv station out of Windsor, it was a tape of the morning show from Spanish radio station SUPERMAX 990 out of Hatford. The audio was so low you still couldn't hear much of anything even after cranking up the tv volume to the max.
Channel 16, which is Southington High School TV is horrible. Not much in the way of any programming. All they show is School Board Meetings, an occasional event happening in one of the schools in town, and the daily running of a once-a-month show hosting my the superintended of schools. The rest of the time is the bulliten board with poor audio from 90.5 WPKT, the NPR station in Hartford. You would think with Southington High School TV, there'd be live or taped coverage of Southington High School Sports. - Nope. A couple years ago the Southington Football Games were on Cox Public Access on tape, using the people who called the game on 990 AM.
Channel 14, the Southington Channel is okay. They carry The Planning and Zoning Meetngs on Tape. The carry the town council meetings on tape. They also show the concerts that are held on the town green.
The Public Access system they have in 8 towns served by COMCAST run my Nutmeg TV, a non-profit organization is much better.
1. First off there's no programming on Sundays.
2. Saturday programming is limited.
3. There are holes in the shedule, so they'll show the bulliten board.
4. The station has a lot of techniclal issues. Lots of times it'll say "A Loss of Video Service Has Occured on this Channel".
5. Sometimes the channel is missing all together.
6. Sometimes they'll forget the put the bulliten board back on after a show airs and we're treated to a blue screen or a Sony DVD Player Screen Saver.
7. Some of the shows they import from other Public Access systems are of poor quaility. Example they used to have a show from WIN-TV 5 the public access tv station out of Windsor, it was a tape of the morning show from Spanish radio station SUPERMAX 990 out of Hatford. The audio was so low you still couldn't hear much of anything even after cranking up the tv volume to the max.
Channel 16, which is Southington High School TV is horrible. Not much in the way of any programming. All they show is School Board Meetings, an occasional event happening in one of the schools in town, and the daily running of a once-a-month show hosting my the superintended of schools. The rest of the time is the bulliten board with poor audio from 90.5 WPKT, the NPR station in Hartford. You would think with Southington High School TV, there'd be live or taped coverage of Southington High School Sports. - Nope. A couple years ago the Southington Football Games were on Cox Public Access on tape, using the people who called the game on 990 AM.
Channel 14, the Southington Channel is okay. They carry The Planning and Zoning Meetngs on Tape. The carry the town council meetings on tape. They also show the concerts that are held on the town green.
The Public Access system they have in 8 towns served by COMCAST run my Nutmeg TV, a non-profit organization is much better.
Cox wastes 3 channels for public access. Channels 14, 15, 16. I think 14 and 16 can be combined. Why not school and town information all on one channel. Makes sense. And as for the stupid Cox Sports 3, don't know why it has the name sports in it as they mostly show infos. I think Cox wanted that channel to be like the Comcast Sports Nets. Now with the Cox Sports Channel combine that with channel 15 which is just information about Cox Cable and other infomation. Their now 2 free channels. Next we dump WSAH on cable channel 8. Now Cox has 3 channels free.
Now filling the holes. Make one channel NECN, maybe add WNBC 4 back to the line-up which was dropped for that Connecticut Channel. Then the third how about add WCBS 2 or maybe one of the Rhode Island channels. I don't see a problem having one of the local networks from NY and RI on a CT line-up.
Now filling the holes. Make one channel NECN, maybe add WNBC 4 back to the line-up which was dropped for that Connecticut Channel. Then the third how about add WCBS 2 or maybe one of the Rhode Island channels. I don't see a problem having one of the local networks from NY and RI on a CT line-up.
WSAH's overnight, 12am to 6am is sold to Television Superstore.
Thank you for your concern.
Thank you for your concern.
It's interesting about how you mentioned this with Cox in Rhode Island. Do any of you know about Bristol County in Rhode Island? That is, the communities of Barrington, Warren, and Bristol? Well, they actually do have another cable service provider, Full Channel TV. This was actually their original cable company, which they have had since the early 80s. And if you think Cox is bad with all their infomercial and "Idiot" channels, you should see Full Channel. The last time I checked, they had 3 PBS stations, 2 NBC stations, 2 Fox stations, 2 UPN stations, and NO WB. And I remember them having at least 3 "public access" channels, and they must have had like 5 or 6 channels with like religious programming. And I remember as late as 2001, they were still using the same cable boxes that were used in the 80s. Apparently, a lot of people were not happy with this, and they wanted Cox to come in. I think the owner of FCTV was thinking of selling it to Cox, but decided not to. And so then, Cox decided to come in. But at the same time, FCTV saw a MAJOR upgrade. And I heard that a lot of people switched from FCTV to Cox, and then back to FCTV, and they saw a completely different company. It's not the same as it used to be at all. It's all new and everything. But still not as good as Cox.
Ken said:
Dumping COX Sports TV is a good idea as is combining The Town Channel and the School Channel. They can't drop WSAH (Ron Correct me if I'm wrong) because it is must-carry. So that frees up two channels. We have 3 additonal vacancies now that COX has elimated the analog feeds of HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime on 64, 65, and 66. (About time they did that because in the 4 years I lived in Southington they weren't letting analog only customers subscribe to the pay services). Dump one Leased Access Channel (67) because no one is leasing time on 67, so they run that horrible Jewelry Television Network 24/7. 96 is leased part time. The Horse Racing thing they have every night on 96 is paid for.
Reception of CABLE 3 is pretty much horrible because of Channel 3's strong OTA signal. So we move TV Guide Channel (which no one watches) from 19 to 3. Move WRDM-LP from 20 to 19. (Now the two Spanish channels are together). Move CT-N from 13 to 20. Put WNBC on 15. And add WCBS to 16. Move the Town & School Channel from 16 to 22. Move The Public Access Channel from 15 to 21. Move QVC from 31 to 99. Move CNN from 33 to 49. Move FOX Sports from 51 to 31. ADD SNY to 33 (for the strange people who like The METS). Now all the Sports Channels will be together. Move BET from 48 to 51. Move E! from 49 to 65. Move Headline News from 70 to 48. Move EWTN from 50 to 64. Add NECN on 50. All the News Channels will be together. Move HSN from 79/95 to 98. Move Travel Channel from 69 to 66. Move Court TV from 71 to 73. Add WGN Superstation on 13. ADD WSBK on 14. Now the 3 "Superstations" are together. Move GSN from digital to 67. Move HGTV from 54 to 40. Now two sister stations are together. Move CMT from 57 to 54. Move VH-1 from 61 to 55. Now all the Music/Entertainemnet Networks are together. Move Sci-Fi from 55 to 61. Move Comedy Central from 40 to 57. (69, 70, and 71 will be vacant because reception on those channels vary do to strong over the air signals of Channels 18, 20, and 24). Move Hallmark from Digital to 74. And I'm only doing this for my dad (because he likes the watches). ADD Shop-at-Home aka The Coinvault Network on 96 and ShopNBC on 97. (Hey at least I stuck all the shopping channels up in the 90s so the they're not on prime real estate on the systerm). The Leased Access Channel moves from 96 to 95.
My Complete Line-Up Can Be Found here: http://marcbramhall.com/tmp/cox.html
Marc!
You should be in charge of the line-up at Cox Cable! You have such great ideas. I no longer have Cox Cable. I begged my dad to get DISH Network instead. We got the Digital Cable in 2004 because the Basic service for me was so "blah". They were down to like 70 channels when they used to have almost 80. Their "basic" 23 channel package is just local stations and informercials. I got the Manchester version of COX Cable CT (Newington).
I was so angry that COX is decreasing their regular choice of basic channels. I loved when they changed their line-up. I couldn't wait when I was a little kid to see channels be moved around. They should really create the "organized categorized" line-up that ComCast did in the Hartford area. They have channels that just don't belong together.
Now, I must tell you that I remember when TV Guide Channel was on Channel 3 (then it was my favorite Prevue Channel). That channel though I remember has horrible reception, and sometimes it's so bad that WFSB shows up instead. I think the TV Guide Channel should be on Channel 2 instead. That's the starting point on the line-up; it's only logical.
I also think that they should bring back WSBK (I'd say that anyway because that's my screen name). I remember when it was on Channel 19. I also remember how the station always was blacked out due to FCC laws. I don't know if the Superstations would work on COX now. I wanted DISH Network for WSBK.
I really think that Channel 16 is a waste of space. I remember the Newington Channel (14) had a second channel on 16 and 95% of the time it was just the bulletin board. I'd leave Channel 15 alone though. I have to disagree that Public Access on COX is terrible. That was the best in my memory of the local access channels. I liked the bulletin board with the music in the background.
As for the shopping channels, they should place them in the 70 range. I remember typing up a channel line-up of my own (that's not as good as yours, Marc), that was more logical than the current one. I'll post it when I find it.
You should be in charge of the line-up at Cox Cable! You have such great ideas. I no longer have Cox Cable. I begged my dad to get DISH Network instead. We got the Digital Cable in 2004 because the Basic service for me was so "blah". They were down to like 70 channels when they used to have almost 80. Their "basic" 23 channel package is just local stations and informercials. I got the Manchester version of COX Cable CT (Newington).
I was so angry that COX is decreasing their regular choice of basic channels. I loved when they changed their line-up. I couldn't wait when I was a little kid to see channels be moved around. They should really create the "organized categorized" line-up that ComCast did in the Hartford area. They have channels that just don't belong together.
Now, I must tell you that I remember when TV Guide Channel was on Channel 3 (then it was my favorite Prevue Channel). That channel though I remember has horrible reception, and sometimes it's so bad that WFSB shows up instead. I think the TV Guide Channel should be on Channel 2 instead. That's the starting point on the line-up; it's only logical.
I also think that they should bring back WSBK (I'd say that anyway because that's my screen name). I remember when it was on Channel 19. I also remember how the station always was blacked out due to FCC laws. I don't know if the Superstations would work on COX now. I wanted DISH Network for WSBK.
I really think that Channel 16 is a waste of space. I remember the Newington Channel (14) had a second channel on 16 and 95% of the time it was just the bulletin board. I'd leave Channel 15 alone though. I have to disagree that Public Access on COX is terrible. That was the best in my memory of the local access channels. I liked the bulletin board with the music in the background.
As for the shopping channels, they should place them in the 70 range. I remember typing up a channel line-up of my own (that's not as good as yours, Marc), that was more logical than the current one. I'll post it when I find it.
I've been doing these channel lineups for years. Since I was 8 years old. (I'm 25 now). Back then I did it for United Artist Cable (later TCI, and AT&T now Comcast) because I lived in Bristol.
And that line up is just one of the ideas I have. I have another idea where for the most part the only thing on Digital Cable would be The Premimum Channels, Pay-Per-View, and the Sports Packages.
And that line up is just one of the ideas I have. I have another idea where for the most part the only thing on Digital Cable would be The Premimum Channels, Pay-Per-View, and the Sports Packages.
Marc, you have any old actual line-ups from cable providers from the 80s-early 90s for the Hartford area (COX, TCI, etc)? I'd love to see them!
I also have a memory of Pay-Per-View. I remember watching the Sneak Prevue Channel, sister network to the Prevue Channel that was established in 1991 and was pulled in 2002. I loved watching the previews for pay per view. I believe COX had it on Channel 18, then 71, and then 70, and later on 79 and 99.
I also have a memory of Pay-Per-View. I remember watching the Sneak Prevue Channel, sister network to the Prevue Channel that was established in 1991 and was pulled in 2002. I loved watching the previews for pay per view. I believe COX had it on Channel 18, then 71, and then 70, and later on 79 and 99.
You have a good idea of where channels should go. Im just wondering why on your list you don't put WFSB 3 on cable 3 and WTNH 8 on cable 8. Also I had a idea of what the channel line-up should look like. I like how you put the channels together such as all sports and news. But how about all the discovery networks, Animal, Travel, etc. I also placed on my all the news networks together but I put them higher in the line-up then the weather then the sports networks. I then placed all the discovery channels and food network and HGTV. Then the channels like Nick, Disney together for kids, then channels like TNT, USA all together, same for the music channels.
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