Insight Communications is building a statewide news, public affairs, sports and weather channel for Kentucky, which it will introduce in phases throughout 2010 and into early 2011. That's one way to circumvent a potentially messy retransmission fees fight with an over-the-air broadcaster--produce your own content.
The cable operator is recruiting a general manager and has hired a newspaper journalist, Ryan Alessi of the Lexington Herald Leader to be director of news and public affairs.
Insight hasn't yet selected a name for the new advertising-supported 24/7 channel, which will begin next month by showing weather programming, but has "done a lot of research," according to spokesman Jason Keller, who said there is a "strong desire for in-depth weather, news, public affairs and... a high level of desire and low satisfaction in the market out there for this."
For more:
- see this story
Related articles
Retransmission battles expected to continue
Cable-satellite group wants FCC help on programming talks
Broadcast lockouts may have just begun
Cablevision's in the rear-view, Comcast's in the headlights
Cablevision, WABC lockout ends in time for Oscars
C-Span joins must-carry battle; CBS boss insists on retransmission fees