In another sign that the local cable TV provider is far from that in 2021, an ACA Connects member serving a Kentucky town of some 3,600 residents to the north of Knoxville, Tenn., has decided to cease offering cable television services to new customers.
For existing customers, they won’t be left without alternatives — thanks to a partnership with DISH Network.
Barbourville Utilities is telling its customers that, with its “BLINK” high-speed Internet service, one can easily stream a choice of subscription television services. Alternatively, the company can assist in connecting them to “more traditional live TV” via satellite.
So, what are Barbourville customer options for watching TV? It has partnered with Dish to transition current and new customers to satellite TV.
“In partnering with Barbourville Utilities, DISH is providing our customers with a 2-Year Price Guarantee and a $100 Gift Card with new activation, and free installation,” the company says.
If Dish isn’t desired, given their penchant to play hard ball with broadcast TV companies over retransmission consent accords, leading to “blackouts” of local TV stations by law, there’s also Hulu+ Live TV, YouTube TV and Sling, among other options shared.
What’s clear is that the cable television company of yesteryear is gone.
“In recent years new services have brought broadcast networks, including local stations, to your home via the Internet and smart TVs or connected devices,” Barbourville says. “With high-speed Internet (like Blink from Barbourville Utilities), you can also access on-demand television shows and movies through companies like Netflix, Paramount Plus, Amazon, and many more.”
Knox County, home to Barbourville, is within the Lexington, Ky., DMA. With broadcast TV station transmitters some 55 miles away, receiving over-the-air signals is difficult with a digital antenna. Hence the very creation of cable TV companies in rural America, or areas with terrain issues.
While there are options such as Dish, the end of unique cable TV services by Barbourville also illustrates the delicate balance between MVPD and local broadcast TV. With retransmission rates skyrocketing, a small cable TV services provider is more fiscally challenged than ever when it comes to balancing customer bills with paying over-the-air TV station owners their fair share for retransmission of a broadcast signal.
In the case of Barbourville, leaving the negotiation to Dish and bowing out was the choice. And, it could be a harbinger of things to come at other small and independent-owned companies offering TV services along with phone and broadband internet.
