Cox Will Eliminate Richmond NBC Affiliate Channel

Cox Will Eliminate Richmond NBC Affiliate Channel

By Desiree Parker Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Local cable provider Cox Communications will no longer carry Channel 12, the Richmond-area NBC affiliate, starting the first of August.

James City County residents have been complaining to the county, to the Board of Supervisors and to Cox about the imminent loss of WWBT Channel 12 (channel 70 on Cox’s lineup), according to county spokeswoman Jody Puckett. Cox had to eliminate the channel in the Historic Triangle area based on contractual obligations and will now only carry the Hampton Roads NBC affiliate, according to an email to the county from Cox.

“It is rare that cable providers have the permission to carry two broadcast stations affiliated with the same network in the one television market,” Kathryn Falk, Cox’s VP for government affairs, said in the email. “Each commercial television station in the U.S. is assigned a local television market according to Nielsen Media Research, and cable television operators are typically limited to carrying only the designated local market network-affiliate.

“Cox is now required, in the case of WWBT (Richmond NBC affiliate) channel 70 to remove it from our channel lineup effective August 1, 2011, in Williamsburg, James City County, Upper York County and Gloucester.”

This has some residents in James City County upset. “We’re trying to look for an alternative now,” according to Puckett. “Many upper-county folks feel a strong connection to that area [in Richmond] for news and weather.”

The county has contacted the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) about the issue, and has spoken to Cox as well.

”Cox is working hard to find another Richmond news and weather source that we can provide, within the parameters of our contractual obligations, to our Peninsula customers who are officially part of the Hampton Roads broadcast television market,” said Falk.

As for the FCC, Puckett said in an email to the Board that an FCC representative did “confirm that even though Channel 12 is designated a significantly viewed channel for our area, Cox is not required to carry it and if they do, they may violate contractual agreements.”

James City County is the closest geographically to Richmond of the three Triangle localities.

The county has little influence over the issue, but residents can email cablecomments@james-city.va.us or leave a complaint at 886-4006, the cable complaint hotline. The county will forward the messages and a Cox representative will respond.

Comments

+6 #17 Guest 2011-07-19 20:40

This is so fustrating, Cox keeps cancelling Richmond news and I live 20 minutes from Richmond and one hour from Va Beach. Va Beach and Portmouth news is the only local news I can get throught Cox and these area mean nothing to me. I hae been a Cox customer always, please listen to your customers and do best for them !!!

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+3 #16 Guest 2011-07-19 20:21

I complained once to Cox when they downgraded our service (but not the rates). I got back about the snippiest reply from a customer service representative I've ever gotten.

I used to think that the problem was that the cable companies realized that they had a monopoly and were behaving accordingly. The latest numbers I saw, though, show that cable's share of the market is decreasing.

If I didn't live in a condo where the condo association 'frowns' on satellite dishes, I'd be a former Cox customer. As it is, I've got the bare bones package -- you know the one that they raised the price of 20% this past month.

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+9 #15 Guest 2011-07-19 19:47

Cox ? Cox who? We dropped cable a year and a half ago and don't miss it a bit. Try it, while there is a period of withdrawal, you WALLET will say WHOOOH lets go out to dinner?

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+4 #14 Guest 2011-07-19 19:08

Richmond is much more attuned to Williamsburg and James City County than is Norfolk. We wonder why the issue has suddenly emerged after many years of dual coverage. Given a choice, we prefer NBC 12 out of Richmond

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+3 #13 Guest 2011-07-19 16:28

I emailed Cox and asked if WAVY will have any responsibility to provide coverage of our area now that they will be the only NBC station we have access to through our local cable provider. I realize I will not get a response. Instead, if I opt to watch WAVY I will get detailed weather for Edenton, the Outer Banks, and other areas in NE North Carolina but nothing more than a brief mention of Williamsburg's weather if time allows. I wish Virginia did not limit localities to one cable provider - without competition this is what you get. We live on a heavily wooded piece of property and will have to cut down many trees to get satellite but that may have to happen now. Frustrating.

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+6 #12 Guest 2011-07-19 14:29

This is the same reason we lost the Richmond FOX channel. We used to watch the Richmond station, because they included the shows we liked in their schedule. The problem is probably not Cox, but the Norfolk stations feeling threatened by better choices and coverage from Richmond. I am not defending Cox. I have no affection for their service and plan to go back to an antenna which will pay for itself within a year.

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+5 #11 Guest 2011-07-19 13:17

Come on Cox, stop listening to your lawyers and do the right thing. Leave the station where it is and work with the FCC on an exception to keep the channel. Community Service should come first so how about putting us first and not falling back on "Cox is not required to carry it and if they do, they may violate contractual agreements".

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+8 #10 Guest 2011-07-19 12:39

The best way to tell Cox you are dissatisfied is to "cut the cable." Both Dish Network & Directv offer receivers that work with both over the air and dish antennas together. With that setup you can receive all the Richmond & Norfolk stations plus the cable channels you are used to getting.

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+13 #9 Guest 2011-07-19 10:59

If you have room for an outdoor antenna, you should be able to pick up all of the Richmond stations over the air in James City County. Just be sure to get an antenna that receives VHF (which means a BIG antenna---the ones over 10 feet long bring in the best signal) to pick up channel 12. Over the air TV is 100% digital nowadays, with an HD picture that is often better than cable.

I live in Richmond and can pick up Charlottesville stations crystal clear with an outdoor antenna, so I'm sure that most of you (especially in Toano and surrounding area) can get Channel 12 just fine with the right antenna. And no cable bill!

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+3 #8 Guest 2011-07-19 10:35

I'm wondering -- has anybody really verified Cox's statement that they HAVE to drop the Richmond station?

My service from cable repair guys has always been great, but I also had one really, really bad experience with them on another matter. Maybe they're telling us the truth, maybe not.

Anybody do any checking?

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