Monday, August 17, 2009

WBTW and Time Warner Cable Go To War..


TWC Drops WBTW, and WBTW Fights Back ......
Hell hath no fury like a local TV station scorned..... I'm used to being the person jammed in the middle of the big fights going on, so when there's a spat going on, and I'm not involved at all, it makes it easier to watch and report....
There's a nice little battle going on right now between WBTW TV-13 , and Time Warner Cable. Since the digital transfer, most viewers of the local stations go through either the local cable or satellite provider. So, when the cable or satellite company makes a change in programming, shit will sometimes happen. And it happened BIGTIME....
Last week, TWC decided to drop WBTW in a few markets, and they replaced it with a shopping channel. In most areas in Georgetown County, WBTW is gone. Other markets will be getting shut down as well. They cited duplication of service, since G'town also gets seerivce from Channel 5 in Charleston. Now, when you are a station like WBTW - which is in a pitched battle with WPDE for viewership since moving from Florence to Myrtle Beach - when the largest cable provider drops you, you just got rooked ....
But Channel 13 is not taking the snub lightly. First, they went public with the problem to drop the problem squarely in Time Warner's lap. Then, they went up to TWC's Raleigh headquarters to interview them about it. The latest round includes ads on the station, along with directing people to WBTW's website to contact TWC to stop the cutoff. Honestly, I've never seen anything like it. Direct TV dropped WIS a while ago, and did not pick up WMBF to replace it, leaving me without an NBC station. I never noticed, and I guess WMBF doesn't care much either. However, if Channel 13's news were gone, I'd notice....
How will this all end? Either TWC will basically say 'F.U.', and drop them, or viewer complaints will be so severe that they pick them back up. There was some late news today.... Time Warner has pushed back drop dates for the lower counties in North Carolina, and Chesterfield, Effingham and Johnsonville to September 22nd. The execution date has been extended. Will it go on further, or will TWC cut the cable then? Stay Tuned....
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21 comments:

pluvlaw said...

I've got Directv and I had WMBF for about two weeks before they dropped WIS. You may need to call and check with them.

Carolyn & Butch Hodge said...

I enjoy have access to Channel 13 which is WBTW. It is one of our local channels in this area and has shows that our family enjoys. Many channels have been dropped by Time Warner that we watched and to drop this channel will be another disappointing decision.

Anonymous said...

TWC DO NOT TAKE WBTW OFF THE AIR THAT IS ONE CHANNEL I WATCH THE MOST YOU TOOK WIS-TV FROM US AND PUT THAT MYRTLE BEACH MESS ON WHICH I HAVE NO USE FOR SO IF YOU REMOVE WBTW I WILL CALL AND REPORT YOU TO THE BBB AND YOU CAN COME TAKE THIS CABLE MESS OUT OF MY HOME AND I WILL GO TO DIRECT-TV













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Anonymous said...

TWC DO NOT TAKE WBTW OFF THE AIR THAT IS ONE CHANNEL I WATCH THE MOST YOU TOOK WIS-TV FROM US AND PUT THAT MYRTLE BEACH MESS ON WHICH I HAVE NO USE FOR SO IF YOU REMOVE WBTW I WILL CALL AND REPORT YOU TO THE BBB AND YOU CAN COME TAKE THIS CABLE MESS OUT OF MY HOME AND I WILL GO TO DIRECT-TV













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Anonymous said...

TWC DO NOT TAKE WBTW OFF THE AIR THAT IS ONE CHANNEL I WATCH THE MOST YOU TOOK WIS-TV FROM US AND PUT THAT MYRTLE BEACH MESS ON WHICH I HAVE NO USE FOR SO IF YOU REMOVE WBTW I WILL CALL AND REPORT YOU TO THE BBB AND YOU CAN COME TAKE THIS CABLE MESS OUT OF MY HOME AND I WILL GO TO DIRECT-TV













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Anonymous said...

TWC DO NOT TAKE WBTW OFF THE AIR THAT IS ONE CHANNEL I WATCH THE MOST YOU TOOK WIS-TV FROM US AND PUT THAT MYRTLE BEACH MESS ON WHICH I HAVE NO USE FOR SO IF YOU REMOVE WBTW I WILL CALL AND REPORT YOU TO THE BBB AND YOU CAN COME TAKE THIS CABLE MESS OUT OF MY HOME AND I WILL GO TO DIRECT-TV













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Anonymous said...

I will discontinue TWC if you drop WBTW.

Anonymous said...

I was told by twc this morning that negotiations were still in progress. I told twc that I would have to drop them if they dropped wbtw

Thoroughbred 401k said...

Is TWC in negotiations again? This post is from 3 1/2 years ago!

Anonymous said...

If Time Warner Cable drops WBTW I will go to Direct TV.

Anonymous said...

If TWC drops WBTW, we will drop TWC.
Direct TV here we come...........

Anonymous said...

I will definitely remove all Time Warner from my home if they drop Wbtw, that includes my phone, cable and internet. WBTW is one of our favorite channels. They have already removed Channel 46 and several other channels that I cannot get anymore. Will definitely to to something else. Aferall, Time Warner is not the only cable capabilities. Please reconsider.

Anonymous said...

I will definitely remove all Time Warner from my home which includes phone, cable and Internet if they drop WBTW. This is one of our favorite channels. They have already dropped Channel 46 and several other channels which I am highly upset about. I will definitely go to something else and they can take all their mess out of my house.

Anonymous said...

If you drop one of the good channels like WBTW (we have so few)
I will drop TWC

DAVID RICHARDSON said...

TIME WARNER CABLE I WILL DROP YOU.
IF YOU DROP WBTW .
HTC IS ON MY STREET NOW

Anonymous said...

If wbtw is dropped I will go to direct tc

Anonymous said...

If you drop wbtw I will drop you. All the news and programs I watch are on it. I also have internet and phone service with you too.
Anonymous

Anonymous said...

TWC must really want to stop servicing the Pee Dee area. If you drop WBTW I'M dropping you.

Anonymous said...

My household has watched wbtw since we moved here years ago. I do not care who is holding out in the contract extension but it needs to be taken care of. The hundreds we pay twc for cable and internet service should allow us access to these channels. If this is not fixed, the cable boxes and modems will go out to the curb and dish network will get our money.

Anonymous said...

If you drop wbtw I will drop you. All the news and programs I watch are on it. I also have internet and phone service with you too.
Anonymous

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
My household has watched wbtw since we moved here years ago. I do not care who is holding out in the contract extension but it needs to be taken care of. The hundreds we pay twc for cable and internet service should allow us access to these channels. If this is not fixed, the cable boxes and modems will go out to the curb and dish network will get our money.