Spectrum’s complaint line is (833) 267-6094
Editors note: Charter reports that both channels were restored on the evening of July 11.
Charter Spectrum cable TV customers started calling the City of Stoughton and the City of Oregon last Thursday to complain that their local “PEG” (Public/Education/Government) cable TV channels were down. Six days later, both cities are still wondering when the channels will be repaired.
WSTO is the city’s PEG access channel.
Derek Westby, Senior Network Administrator with the City of Stoughton IT/Media Services Department which manages WSTO, said he received the first call around 10 am on Thursday from a resident and immediately emailed Mike Hill, Government Affairs Manager for Charter Spectrum. The response he received was surprising -- an automatic email informing Westby that Hill had retired as of June 30. “Mike Hill has been the primary contact for Wisconsin municipalities with PEG channels for as long as I can remember,” said Westby. “We did not receive any notice that he was going to be retiring.” The automatic email suggested two other contacts to try: Teri Hatchell, Director of State Government Affairs and Adam Raschka, Senior Director of State Government Affairs. Westby sent another email to Hatchell.
On Friday morning, Paul Zwicker, Executive Director of OCA Media, followed up Westby’s email with another one to both contacts. At the end of the day, Raschka responded that Hatchell had “routed the issue to the team Mike would normally interact with.”
As of today, Tuesday, July 11, Stoughton’s cable channels 980 and 981 and Oregon’s cable channels 983 and 984 are still down. Zwicker emailed the company again today. “I told them that we are receiving complaints from their customers.”
Unfortunately, Westby and Zwicker have experienced PEG channel outages before. “Both of our signals travel to a common hub before being inserted into the Charter Spectrum cable system, so when both channels go down, we know that the problem lies with their hub site,” said Westby.
Charter Spectrum has not upgraded how they carry these PEG channels even though the world has moved on to HD, 4K and even higher standards. To be compatible with the Charter system, both communities are required to use old analog modulators that could break at any time.
Viewers of cable television in Oregon and Stoughton are relied upon to let their cities know about Charter Spectrum outages. Since video service providers charge municipalities for service, subscribing to more than one provider would be cost prohibitive. Both municipalities subscribe to TDS, which carries the PEG channels in HD.
If you are a frustrated viewer, let the State of Wisconsin know. Go to WCM’s cable complaint page and click on the link to the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection complaint form page. Help Stoughton and Oregon get faster action! And help us make state government aware of these ongoing problems.
