Spectrum alters channel lineup. Will you lose programming?

Emily Barnes, New York State Team
Updated ·3 min read

Some Spectrum customers in the Rochester region will lose access to certain programming as Spectrum is altering multiple channels in its lineup.

The altered access was announced in a recent series of programming notices posted to the company's website.

This change, which Charter Communications/Spectrum said they informed customers of through bill messages and programming legal notices in November, comes on the heels of recent cost increases for varying Spectrum services effective with billing cycles beginning Jan. 30.

WROC-TV (Channel 8) is no longer available to DirecTV customers.
WROC-TV (Channel 8) is no longer available to DirecTV customers.

Which Spectrum channels are affected?

WSYR and WSYR HD on channels 9 and 1201 and WROC and WROC HD on channels 8 and 1210 will no longer be available for certain Spectrum customers beginning on or after Jan. 23.

For some Spectrum customers, WROC and WROC HD on channels 8 and 1209 will no longer be available beginning on or after Feb. 7.

And WBGT CD on channels 8 and 1215 will no longer be available for certain Spectrum customers beginning on or after Feb. 5. However, you can continue to access WBGT CD HD programming on channels 8 and 1215.

Any scheduled DVR recordings on WBGT CD may need to be reset after the change.

Who is affected by Spectrum changes?

WSYR and WSYR HD will no longer be available for these locations:

  • Cities of Canandaigua and Geneva

  • Towns of Arcadia, Bristol, Butler, Canadice, Canandaigua, East Bloomfield, Farmington, Galen, Geneva, Hopewell, Huron, Junius, Lyons, Macedon, Manchester, Marion, Naples, Ontario, Palmyra, Phelps, Richmond, Rose, Savannah, Seneca, Sodus, South Bristol, Victor, Walworth, Williamson and Wolcott

  • Villages of Bloomfield, Clifton Springs, Clyde, Macedon, Manchester, Naples, Newark, Palmyra, Phelps, Red Creek, Shortsville, Sodus, Sodus Point, Victor and Wolcott

WROC and WROC HD (channels 8 and 1210) will no longer be available for these locations:

  • City of Batavia

  • Towns of Alabama, Alexander, Attica, Batavia, Bennington, Bergen, Bethany, Caneadea, Castile, Covington, Darien, Eagle, Elba, Gainesville, Genesee Falls, Hume, Java, Le Roy, Middlebury, Oakfield, Orangeville, Pavilion, Pembroke, Perry, Pike, Prattsburg, Pulteney, Sheldon, Stafford, Tyrone, Urbana, Warsaw, Wayne and Weathersfield

  • Villages of Alexander, Attica, Bergen, Castile, Corfu, Elba, Gainesville, Hammondsport, Le Roy, Oakfield, Perry, Silver Springs, Warsaw and Wyoming

WROC and WROC HD (channels 8 and 1209) will no longer be available for these locations:

  • Towns of Prattsburg, Pulteney, Tyrone, Urbana, Wayne and Wheeler

  • Village of Hammondsport

WBGT CD will no longer be available for these locations:

  • Cities of Canandaigua, Geneva and Rochester

  • Towns of Arcadia, Avon, Brighton, Bristol, Butler, Byron, Caledonia, Canadice, Canandaigua, Chili, Clarendon, Clarkson, Conesus, East Bloomfield, Farmington, Galen, Gates, Geneseo, Geneva, Greece, Groveland, Hamlin, Henrietta, Hopewell, Huron, Irondequoit, Junius, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Lyons, Macedon, Manchester, Marion, Mendon, Mount Morris, Murray, Naples, Nunda, Ogden, Ontario, Palmyra, Parma, Penfield, Perinton, Phelps, Pittsford, Portage, Richmond, Riga, Rose, Rush, Savannah, Seneca, Sodus, South Bristol, Sweden, Victor, Walworth, Webster, West Bloomfield, Wheatland, Williamson, Wolcott and York

  • Villages of Avon, Bloomfield, Brockport, Caledonia, Churchville, Clifton Springs, Clyde, East Rochester, Fairport, Geneseo, Hilton, Holley, Honeoye Falls, Leicester, Lima, Livonia, Macedon, Manchester, Mount Morris, Naples, Newark, Nunda, Palmyra, Phelps, Pittsford, Red Creek, Scottsville, Shortsville, Sodus, Sodus Point, Spencerport, Victor, Webster and Wolcott

Spectrum is hiking prices soon: Here's how much more you'll be paying

More about Spectrum changes

A Charter Communications/Spectrum spokesperson said Monday the company has removed duplicate out-of-market network affiliates, instead only carrying the in-market network as designated by media analytics firm Nielsen for all TV providers.

For some Spectrum customers outside Rochester and its inner ring suburbs, other affiliate networks, such as WSYR or WIVB, were more suitable as "in-market networks" than WROC, according to findings from Nielsen.

WROC released a statement Monday in response to the recent programming change apologizing for the inconvenience to its viewers.

"Unfortunately, Charter/Spectrum has decided to drop WROC from its channel line-up, rather than pay a fair market rate for the local news, weather, sports, and network entertainment programming we provide," the statement read.

What to do if you've been affected by the change

In the programming notices, Spectrum states customers can change their level of service or disconnect free of charge within 30 days of receiving notice of the change.

Emily Barnes is the New York State Team consumer advocate reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Barnes at ebarnes@gannett.com or on Twitter @byemilybarnes.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Spectrum alters channel lineup. Will you lose programming?