So two years ago the local cable company (which is owned by the phone company)
decided to shut down traditional cable TV service. They switched over to an
IPTV streaming service over their DSL, fiber and cable modem network. It seems
that they were losing so much money on TV services that TV without a broadband
subscription was not tenable.
Now, they're completely shuttering their TV lineup at the end on March.
Programming fees have become so high that - even subsidized with profitable
broadband - TV service is no longer possible.
This means my local channel, Ridgeline TV, will no longer be available on cable
TV. Aside from satellite service and national streamers, there is no other
local provider of TV service here (the fiber optic system shut down their TV
operations several years ago for the same reasons.)
I am streaming my channel on the internet and will continue to do so, but it
will be a very tough sell. While it's available free to everyone, it's like
herding cats trying to direct viewers to the channel, even with apps for ROKU
and FIRE TV. And broadcast is a no go in this area.
Even if I had a LPTV station, very, very few people use antennas here. We're
100 miles away from Atlanta and 3 other markets with terrain blocking mountains
between.
While this is bad news for me, it may be good news for LPTV operators. More
smaller to midsize cable systems are likely to follow suit and just completely
give up on TV service, instead focusing on very profitable broadband service.
Several other companies have already done this. It will be imperative for LPTV
operators to let viewers leaving pay TV know that OTA is available in addition
to streaming services.
Jon C. Moon
Ridgeline TV Channel 99
706-897-0872
www.ridgelinetv.net <http://www.ridgelinetv.net/>
