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Bright House Changes Channels

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By WALT BELCHER | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 10, 2007

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TAMPA - Beginning today, more than 1 million subscribers to the Bright House Networks cable systems in the Tampa Bay area will begin seeing changes in their channel lineups.

The changes vary among the Bright House systems within the seven-county area the company serves.

In Hillsborough County, for example, the realignment involves 21 channels. In Pinellas County, 45 channels are being realigned.

Part of the alignment involves the addition of new high definition channels. Beginning Wednesday, Bright House will add Discovery HD, Discovery Science HD, Animal Planet HD, The Learning Channel HD, Food Network HD, HGTV HD, History HD and National Geographic HD to the digital tier.

This channel shuffle has created some controversy because the local county government, public and educational channels are being moved to a higher digital tier.

They will be replaced by networks such as BET, Discovery Health and E!

Subscribers who do not have digital cable boxes can pay $1 more a month for a converter to receive the access channels.

City governments in Tampa and St. Petersburg have filed federal lawsuits contending that the Bright House move violates federal communications law, which requires cable networks to place the channels on the lowest tier available.

Bright House officials are proceeding with the move, which, they say, is an effort to make their channel lineups uniform throughout out the seven-county area.

Kevin Hyman, president of Bright House Networks Tampa Bay Division, said the company is "creating a more seamless and familiar TV experience for customers when they turn on the TV anywhere across Tampa Bay."

But even with the changes, there still are some differences among the various county lineups.

Officials in charge of the access channels are bracing for some confusion. Ann Goldenberg, director of the Tampa-based Education Channel, expects complaints from viewers who can't find or even get live coverage of the Hillsborough County School Board meeting tonight.

"We are moving from Channels 18 and 20 to Channels 614 and 620 so we will be standing by the telephones tonight to help viewers," she said.

Reporter Walt Belcher can be reached at (813) 259-7654 or wbelcher@tampatrib.com.

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