The Weather Channel is Basic

A letter to the editor in today’s Advertiser complains about Cox’s recent “basic cable” channel lineup change that drops the Weather channel. The change would force folks who want to keep the weather channel to purchase a more expensive package.

The author remarks:

What a disservice! For all our citizens who depend so much on knowing the weather for the next day and night and cannot afford the cost increase of over $30. This change is an insult.

Yes, sir: It is time the city-parish “fiber plan” takes on a new crusade – surely to be one of compassion and sensitivity.

To that I’d add that pulling the weather channel during hurrincane season in Louisiana shows the sort of sensitivity to local needs that we’ve come to expectd from Cox.

I spent a chunk of my life as a carpenter and getting a good idea of the day’s weather from the weather channel quickly and easily early in the morning was a part of the daily ritual. I’m sure many people use the weather channel to plan their day. It and the channel guide are the losses that will probably effect the most people. The weather channel costs Cox some money but the channel guide effectively costs nothing to provide. Both of these should be on the basic cable tier that is designed to get people access to the local coverage they need without buying into all the expensive channels. Taking it off is a way of forcing people off the basic, inexpensive cable that the big companies resent being forced to offer.

I trust LUS will do better–and I trust that they’ll be smart enough to make offering such utterly basic services in the basic tier a marketing point.

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