IS COMCAST LISTENING

Hi all,
Following is an article appearing in the Palm Beach Post (PBP) dated: November 27, 2008.
This extract is from the PBP Online where the article was published on Wednesday, 26 November 2008:

Your BLOGMEISTER was interviewed for this article and is mentioned therein. My second "15 minutes of fame"

Let's hope that this article helps Comcast "Get the message"

Dave Israel
Cable chair
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Item in red below as corrected by BLOG Admin.

REF:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/search/content/local_news/epaper/2008/11/26/a1a_comcast_1127.html

Comcast viewers in uproar over channel changes

By LONA O'CONNOR
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 26, 2008

When Comcast relocated a religion cable channel in October, Dave Israel's phone lit up.
Comcast is the largest cable television provider in the country, but Israel's neighbors in Century Village answer to a higher power.

"We have a lot of Catholics who watch the Mass for shut-ins, and when they couldn't get the channel, this enraged a lot of people," said Israel, who handles cable television issues for Century Village near West Palm Beach, representing about 13,000 condominium dwellers in (7854) units.

"For some people, it's the most important thing in their life," said Bob Schulbaum, president of the Alliance of Delray Residential Associations, which represents 68 communities in suburban Delray Beach. "Some guys would rather you take their wife than their cable."

The channel switch, announced in advance, triggered a wave of resentment against Comcast, which also has been criticized by the Consumers Union and the Federal Communications Commission. Schulbaum hopes to join with similar alliances west of Boca Raton and Boynton Beach, all of which represent about 300,000 Comcast viewers.

The Century Village governing board hired a consulting firm this month to negotiate a new bulk-rate contract with Comcast - and to consider replacing cable TV service with satellite or the new AT&T U-verse cable service when its contract runs out in two years.

Israel also hopes to use the leverage of his community's lucrative bulk-rate contract.
"A major threat is that they lose $2 million in revenue from Century Village. This is real competition," Israel said. "Comcast will have to behave."

Other homeowners associations are similarly riled.
"We as a community have already lost seven channels, including one HBO," said Murray Feigenbaum, cable chairman for the Rainberry Bay neighborhood of 900 residents in Delray Beach.

Rainberry Bay asked an attorney to examine its contract and set up a meeting to explain the issues to residents. Feigenbaum has been getting 10 to 12 calls a day from residents.

Besides the EWTN religion channel, Comcast moved C-SPAN 2 and C-SPAN-3, Oxygen, Country Music TV, Style and one HBO channel to the higher-numbered digital tier of channels, which Comcast described as a necessary move to prepare for the federally mandated analog-to-digital changeover in February.

Moving channels from analog to digital allows the company to provide more bandwidth for more high-definition and OnDemand programs. The space taken up by one analog channel can be replaced by at least 10 digital channels.

The problem: The digital tier does not come with many bulk-rate cable contracts, so those channels are no longer available for many viewers.
Language in the contract gives Comcast the right to move channels to take advantage of technical advancement. Despite the company's explanation that customers got a bonus with a third HBO channel, however, many see the move as giving them less service than they paid for.

Viewers' concerns were validated last month by the FCC, which criticized major cable providers for what the commission described as a de facto price increase, a charge that Comcast representatives vigorously dispute.

David Frye, Palm Beach County's cable television coordinator, said he was receiving 10 to 15 calls a day when the channel change occurred. He acts as a liaison between Comcast and its customers, including one who came to him after calling Comcast 20 times without getting satisfaction.

"We're working with our front-line personnel," said Reg Griffin, Comcast's vice president of communications for the company's southern division. "In many cases, they are young and gaining experience."

Comcast is also scheduling meetings with homeowners associations.

Leo Delgado, chief marketing officer for CSI Associates, a Fort Lauderdale firm that represents homeowners groups totaling about 200,000 households in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties, thinks Comcast can win over customers by focusing on local service.

"When Comcast looks at their universe, they see 25 million customers," Delgado said. "I wish they would look at bulk accounts and treat this as a major part of their business. It's better communication, more focused communication."

Gradual transition is one way to keep customers from rebelling, Delgado said. In the Portland, Ore., area, channel changes occurred at a much slower - and more peaceful - pace than they have in Palm Beach County, Delgado said.

By contrast, there was such an uproar after channel changes in Detroit that consumers got a judge to issue an injunction against the company in January.

Comcast finds itself caught between customers who resist channel changes and other customers who want more channels.

"These decisions are never easy," Griffin said.
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