Why Doesn't Comcast Carry MSNBC ??

I've never dealt with Comcast before. I use Knology and Direct TV at my home in TN and MSNBC is part of both "basic" cable/satellite lineups.

But I spend 10 days a month in central California and recently talked my company into installing Cable at my house, as I was having withdrawals from 10-day blackouts with no news at all. To my utter astonishment, MSNBC was nowhere in the lineup. Not even if I upgraded to a "premium channel" lineup. They simply do not carry it.. at all. I have to choose from CNN or Fox. Now, we all bitch and moan about MSNBC, but try living with CNN or Fox as your ONLY news source for nearly two weeks! No Keith.. no Rachel.. I even miss Tweety ! And what will I do on Nov. 4th, when I'm stuck in California watching election returns.. on CNN ?

I did some research on the Google and found where Comcast had moved it without warning, in some markets, to a higher channel; but in my market in CA, it is simply not carried. I tried calling and emailing customer service and have received no answer as to why they do not carry one of the three MAJOR 24-hour cable news networks.

Has anyone else had this same experience in their market.. and I don't suppose there is anything to be done ?

It is INFURIATING !

:kick:

Digital-Cable Channel 59. Wait, lemme double-check....

Yep, it's there. Nothing good on right now, though....

That being said I worked for that company for 6 years they are evil incarnate. I quit to get a masters degree in elementary education and will be doing my student teaching soon. I can't wait to mold young minds. Granted it is costing an arm and a leg to get a job that pays maybe half of what I made before. But it soothes my soul, after all that is all you have.

Peace

carries MSNBC, for whatever that's worth.

but you need a cable box to see either of them. I have a digital box in the living room and have both. I have a TV in the bedroom with no box and don't get it (I also don't get TruTV or Bravo without a box).

....I'm in Tallahassee, Fl, and my MSNBC was not working this morning. With hope, it was only a glitch. Somebody's got hell to pay if I miss KO.

in Portland and had to pay a fine for moving it to upper tier channels and giving customers no notice. It's bizarre.

looking to switch as we speak.

Thank you for contacting the Comcast Office of Rick Germano, Senior Vice
President of Customer Operations, regarding your Comcast channel line
up.

I appreciate you providing us with the opportunity to
assist you. I would be happy to provide you some information on MSNBC.

Our goal is to provide a wide choice of quality cable networks and local
broadcast channels reflecting the diverse programming interests of our
customers. In addition to requests from customers, the following
factors play a part in our decision making process:

· FCC regulations, such as requirements to carry all local broadcast
channels
· Requirement by local broadcasters to carry their affiliated cable
networks
· The number of access channels required by local government
· Customer satisfaction with networks carried in other systems
· Customer satisfaction with similar networks
· Importance of the network to our diverse community
· Level of interest across a percentage of our customer base
· Per-subscriber programming fees charged by the network versus the
value added to the line-up

As you may know, we have been investing millions of dollars in new
technology to increase the channel capacity of the system through
digital technology. So an additional factor in launching new channels
is whether or not a particular network is available in the digital
format.

What this all means is that we take all requests for new networks very
seriously, and that we carefully consider the overall impact of adding
each network. While we cannot honor every request, we do take each
request into consideration in planning future changes to the line-up.

Thank you for taking the time to provide us with your suggestion on how
to improve our service. I have forwarded your suggestion to the
appropriate management team for further review and action. We appreciate
your interest in making Comcast the best entertainment value possible.



Sincerely,

Deborah Robinson
Office of Rick Germano
Comcast Online Customer Support

In Pittsburgh, the excuse was that they needed room for HD so they moved The Golf Channel into MSNBC's slot.

In other markets, other excuses are used.

But, don't worry. The idea that politics is involved AT ALL is yet another silly "conspiracy theory".

My biggest complaint is that it isn't in hi-def. We get CNN in hi-def and we're about to get FOX News in hi-def. Why not MSNBC?

I live in Central Illinois. We were switched against our will from Insight to Comcast. Insight didn't carry MSNBC either, but the service was much better (and CHEAPER!) than we are getting from Comcast.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x4026883

Rachel: http://rss.msnbc.msn.com/id/26548304/device/rss/rss.xml
KO: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036677/

fwiw, the only way I got to see KO for a long time was through small snippets of video on the internet because my old local cable company didn't carry MSNBC.

Press Secretary, before this job.

upgrade your cable or switch to a different company. That's really the only option.

I had Verizon FiOS but dropped it for Comcast because MSNBC made some ridiculous exclusive deal with Comcast/Cablevision in the New York market area (Northern and Central NJ, NYC, and parts of Long Island) and Verizon refused to pay whatever they had to pay to get MSNBC on their line up. At least that's all I could find out during the short time we had Verizon FiOS TV. We kept Verizon internet and phone but went to Comcast TV. When our Verizon internet contract ended we went with Comcast for all three because they DO carry MSNBC, and for price.

I was very surprised to learn that Verizon didn't carry MSNBC in our area. They had it listed high up on their line up but the fine print said otherwise. I called Verizon. I called MSNBC. I even called the FCC. The person I spoke with there told me station line up is the provider's decision.

Find out if any other carriers have an exclusive agreement with MSNBC in your area and see if you can switch.