Antiques Road Show Part II Airs Tonight
At 8pm WUNC will air the second installment of the Raleigh episodes of Antiques Road Show .
TWC Adds More Channels
Tomorrow is the day for a new batch of channels on Time Warner Cable:
- History International HD (227)
- RFD HD (229)
- Showtime Showcase HD (445)
- Showtime Extreme HD (456)
- MoreMax HD (435)
- ThrillerMax HD (437)
- Blue Highways (134)
A couple of weeks ago, on December 16, TWC added three channels:
- Logo (128)
- NBA-TV HD (335)
- HD Movies on Demand Titles in the Guide (1002-1009)
Seeking: Dish HD Customer In The Area
I am working on a story regarding TV services in the Raleigh area, and need the help of a Dish HD customer. Do any readers have this service or know someone who can help me? (email me privately, if you wish, to scoop at gogoraleigh dot com.)
Time Warner Polls Audience on New Fees
Time Warner Cable is running a new ad campaign centered around rising cable channel costs. They ask customers to vote for them to “Roll Over” or “Get Tough” with TV networks by going to www.rolloverorgettough.com .
It is an interesting strategy for the company. Of course every vote for “Roll Over” is essentially a ticket to pay higher costs, which will ultimately get passed on to the customer. A vote for “Get Tough” gives the company an excuse should they start removing channels for which they are unable to negotiate.
TWC’s strategy is in all likelihood formulated and they are simply harvesting data to support their negotiation stance. Certainly the company wants to offer as many channels as possible in order to match competitors’ offerings. If there is a significant message of “Roll Over”, TWC will simply pass along the fees. If there is a “Get Tough” mandate, TWC can begin removing channels, but this is most likely not their target result. In fact this option is being framed in the campaign as the TV Networks “taking away“ your shows.
Hence, the biased presentation of the ballot. The “Get Tough” option features a fast-forward icon while the “Roll Over” option displays a rewind icon. We’re Americans, dammit! We want to move forward and be tough! Yeah, and that’s why Time Warner is trying to easily mine data that covers their fannies should they fail in negotiations.
The channel offerings that are set to expire soon are:
WNVN-TV, WHFL-TV, WGHP-TV, WLFL-TV, WRDC-TV, Great American Country, E!, Encore(East), Encore(West), Encore Action, Encore Love, Encore Mystery, Encore Drama, Encore Westerns, Encore Wam!, Food Network, Fox Reality, Fox Soccer, Fox Sports Espanol, Fuel, FX, Lifetime, Speed, Starz!, Style, truTV, TV Azteca.
Wow! We actually get those channels? You mean we get more than Palladia, ESPN-HD, ESPN2-HD, and ESPNU-HD? (outside of free OTA programming, these are the only channels I care about). Unfortunately a la carte cable TV will never be a service offered in the current system (a federal and local government that completely coddles the cable TV industry), so it looks like our choices lie with rolling over, standing up, or just simply switching to U-Verse or satellite (two other options that are coddled by the government).
Big, Busy Week Ahead
I busy week, indeed. Let’s start with sports. The long-awaited, first-ever Thursday night football game for Chapel Hill begins at 8pm tomorrow night. Florida State and Erin Andrews (not necessarily in order of importance) are in town for a game that will be featured in ESPN. Plan accordingly, as traffic in Raleigh and RTP should be horrendous.
The other reason for traffic problems is the N.C. State Fair which ends on Sunday night. Today the Wake County Public Schools have an early release day, so there should be many students invading the fairgrounds. Tomorrow is can day, where entry is free for those with 4 cans of food for the needy. The remaining music acts are Julianne Hough, Anoop Desai, Jeremy Camp and Tenth Avenue North, Blake Shelton, and Eric Church.
The State Fair isn’t the only other draw for tens of thousands of people. Raleigh Wide Open begins Friday, and celebrates the grand opening of Raleigh’s new City Plaza. Delbert McClinton headlines the main stage of music, however more interesting, perhaps, is the Cherry Bounce stage, which is the culmination of a week-long local music series downtown. The series aims to get exposure for a mostly unheard of list of bands. Be sure to stop by the WTVD studios on Saturday afternoon for your chance to get on Wheel of Fortune.
The big stand along music event occurring this week is Queensryche at the Lincoln Theatre, tonight. However in the Greensboro Coliseum, rock gods AC/DC will play Sunday night. INto industrial? KMFDM is at the Cradle Monday night.
There is plenty of theater for the people this week, too. The Picasso Ballet performance by the Carolina Ballet continues at the Fletcher Opera Theater while NC Theater’s West Side Story production runs at Memorial Auditorium. Tonight David Copperfield will be at the DPAC, while the Carolina Crown II (wrestling theater) will take place at the RBC Center on Saturday night. NCSU alumnus, John Reep, the “Hemi guy” plays at Charlie Goodnights this weekend.
If all of that excitement isn’t enough, be sure to swing by the Raleigh Convention Center for the Junior League’s Shopping SPREE!, a seriously awesome event when shopping for things women like.
For more info on these events, check out the gogoraleigh Do-It Calendar . That’s a heck of a week! I can’t wait to get out there and DO IT!
TWC Offers NBA League Pass Preview
It is basketball time, again, and to celebrate, Time Warner Cable is offering a free NBA League Pass preview from now until November 3. Tune in to channels 710-720 for the preview (only 711-715 will be active until the 27th).
Try Out For Wheel of Fortune
Wheel of Fortune is staging two try-outs in the areas this week. On Friday, from 5pm-9pm, the crew will be at Fayetteville’s Crown Center Arena. On Saturday they will be at Raleigh Wide Open from 2pm-6pm, near the WTVD studios.
TWC To Roll Out More HD
October 28 will be an good day for many Time Warner subscribers, as 14 new HD channels will be added to the Raleigh lineup. They are:
- HBO 2 East HD (Channel 414)
- BBC America HD (Channel 235)
- Headline News HD (Channel 232)
- Investigation Discovery HD (Channel 236)
- truTV HD (Channel 242)
- MSNBC HD (Channel 233)
- TCM HD (Channel 243)
- Classic On Demand (Channel 512)
- Thriller On Demand (Channel 513)
- Kids/Teens On Demand (Channel 514)
- Action On Demand (Channel 515)
- Comedy On Demand (Channel 516)
- Drama On Demand (Channel 517)
- Lo Mejor On Demand (Channel 547)
Coming November 24, HD channels for HBO’s East feeds of Signature, Family, Comedy, Latino, and Zone. Also, Fox Sports Carolina HD is now a full time HD Channel (Channel 272).
Note: In all likelihood these channels will be delivered via SDV. Therefore viewers using equipment other than Time Warner’s standard issue hardware will need an SDV tuning adapter in order to view these channels.
TWC Rolling NHL Center Ice Preview
From Friday until October 24, Time Warner Cable will be rolling their NHL Center Ice package for free on channels 431-444 and HD on Channel 745. This season the package not only includes all of the league’s televised games (subject to blackout for Canes games), it includes the Mosaic Channel, a 4-screen composite channel showing 4 currently played games. There will also be the Stat Channel, Dual Feed Channel (showing the away feed when available), and Replay Channel, which shows a replay. The service costs $171 for the season.
Durham Bulls Playing Tonight for Championship
Tonight at 7pm the Durham Bulls will face the Memphis Redbirds for the Triple-A Championship. The game is in Oklahoma City and is being carried on ESPN2.
Hurricanes HD Coverage Announced
FOX Sports Carolinas released their schedule (.pdf) of Carolina Hurricanes games that will appear in HD. Unfortunately only 30 of the 65 televised games will appear in HD. They can be found on Time Warner Channel 272, while the SD coverage of all 65 games can be found on TWC channel 50.
This low percentage of games in HD is irritating. According to a recently released survey by the Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), over half of American households have an HDTV. Certainly that number is even higher for the Triangle area. So not only are the league, the team, and the network disregarding our investments, they are ignoring the best chance they have of showcasing the game to future fans. Common complaints about hockey on TV include the difficulty of seeing the puck in SD broadcasts. It’s a different story in HD, however. Perhaps there is no other sport that benefits from HDTV coverage like hockey does. For the NHL to even allow SD only broadcasts, in 2009, shows what a desperate, needy bunch of followers they are. If the commissioner had any guts, he would draw the line with networks and insist that his outstanding product be presented in the best possible manner.
The games covered in HD have been added to the gogoraleigh Complete Hurricanes Google Calendar (not in the home-only version), so subscribers should see the HD indication in the game’s subject heading.
Guy Fieri Roadshow Coming to Memorial Auditorium
On November 21
Guy Fieri
is bringing his roadshow to Raleigh’s Memorial Auditorium.
Tickets go on sale today at 10am
.
Bobby Flay Throwdown Reruns
For those who missed the Raleigh episode of Throwdown With Bobby Flay, be sure to set your DVR to record the reshowing at 9:30pm and 12:30am tonight on Food Network. The episode features Flay competing against local pitmaster Ed Mitchell in a BBQ Ribs throwdown.
Recent Stories
- North Carolina Loses The Great Teacher February 9, 2015
- City Lays Markings for Currituck Obstacle Course February 4, 2015
- History Making Heels and Wolfpack Prepare for Battle January 14, 2015
- 25 Predictions for 2015 January 5, 2015
- Raleigh’s 10 Biggest Stories of 2014 January 2, 2015
- 2014: The Rain Year January 2, 2015
- Tupelo Honey Sets New Casual Standard December 1, 2014
- 2013 Predictions. A Look Back November 18, 2014
- Wicked Taco Bringing Fresh-Mex to Western Blvd November 17, 2014
- DOT Unveils I-440 Widening Plans November 12, 2014
- County Power Shift Brings Major Changes to Raleigh’s Future November 5, 2014
- Jarrett Bay Store Coming to Crabtree September 25, 2014
- FirstWatch Coming to Glenwood Avenue September 9, 2014
- Big Shindig Releases Set Times September 5, 2014
- Appearance Commission to Review Residence Inn September 3, 2014
