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Cox to change its Channel 15 content in January
Dec 11, 2008 (The Macon Telegraph - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --
Cox Communications is planning to revamp its cable TV Channel 15 because the all-local channel wasn't attracting the viewers and ad revenue it expected.
"We're very proud of the work we put out there, but frankly it was not generating the interest and viewership that we had anticipated," said Lynn Murphey, vice president of communication and government relations for Cox.
Some of the regular programs carried on Channel 15 will remain there after the first of the year, but some others will move over to Channel 1, which is the on-demand platform with paid areas and free areas, Murphey said.
"We will not be producing new monthly shows with Mark Ballard (on Channel 15) going forward," she said. "We are looking to put it on our on-demand platform. ... You will find much of our Cox 15 content on Channel 1."
Ballard's show will continue through the end of December on Channel 15.
To access Channel 1 content, viewers must have a digital box attached to the TV, she said. Once accessed, a menu of 10 to 15 different options come up, including movies and local content, Murphey said.
The cable company will continue to carry various local content next year, such as Atlanta Braves games and special shows as it did this year with election coverage and the Warner Robins Little League baseball championship, she said.
Cox launched Channel 15 in February 2005 and the company has been "really investing significant resources to support this new foray into local origination content," she said. It has carried a variety of programing by partnering with organizations such as The Telegraph, Macon Magazine and the Georgia Children's Museum.
At the beginning of this year, the company conducted a series of customer surveys and focus groups and learned "there was very low awareness of the channel and there was very low interest in the channel," Murphey said.
Even after trying to accommodate some of the feedback received, the channel still was not getting the viewership expected.
"We were going to have to make significantly more investments into the channel and take it to a true 24/7 channel, or we were going to have to pull it back and look at it," Murphey said. "So we opted to take a re-look."
In a related matter, Fox Business Network will launch on Cox Channel 318 and some new channels are in high definition, "in response to customer demand," she said.
"The thing I don't know is what Channel 15 will look like going forward," she said. "We will decide the first quarter of next year."
To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223.
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