If you woke up early on Wednesday morning to watch a particular television program, there was a chance you didn’t find it. Several channels for both analog and digital subscribers, including the analog program guide, were either not available or
If you woke up early on Wednesday morning to watch a particular television program, there was a chance you didn’t find it.
Several channels for both analog and digital subscribers, including the analog program guide, were either not available or on another station early on Wednesday while Oceanic Time Warner Cable’s new channel lineup was taking affect.
The new lineup was completely up and running at approximately 1 p.m. on Wednesday in some areas. By late afternoon the North Shore and Kapa‘a area had full service, according to viewers called in those areas, while a viewer in Kalaheo still experienced problems with all stations showing up in the early evening.
“The Kaua‘i community has embraced this business with open arms,” said Marlene Matutino, the general manager of the Kaua‘i Oceanic Time Warner Cable office. “Change is really hard sometimes but I think people in this community are ready for it.”
Before the program lineup was 100 percent ready for customers on Wednesday, Oceanic Cable technicians were busy making technical adjustments.
The technicians were up at 1:30 a.m. on Wednesday morning checking equipment island wide in an effort to speed up the process.
The technicians finished balancing levels midway through the morning before completing minor adjustments in the afternoon on Wednesday.
“A great deal of planning was involved in the decision (to offer new channel lineups),” said Matutino. “Everything is finished and it went really well.”
The decision to change the channel lineup was made statewide in an effort, according to Matutino to offer better choices for viewers as well as make accessing their favorite stations easier.
Matutino also wanted to stress that the new lineups will alleviate confusion.
“One of the significant aspects of the new changes is that, across the islands, the majority of the channels are the same,” she said. “Every island has channels that are specific to them. But people can access a lot of the same channels wherever they go in the state. It lessens confusion.”
The new lineup will include 18 new stations although a couple of them are not available right now due to contractual negotiations.
The new program lineup also groups similar genres together such as sports networks and news stations.
Analog customers can access the new program guide on channel 12 to find out all the new changes although they can also get a new lineup card at www.oceanic.com.
Business Editor Barry Graham can be reached at 245-3681 ext. 251 or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net
