Comcast to pull KCRA from cable systems in Vallejo, Benicia
(Graphic by The Desk)
For the second time in less than a year, cable giant Comcast is warning customers in Vallejo and Benicia that a local news channel from Sacramento will be dropped from their systems.
The move affects KCRA-TV (Channel 3), an NBC affiliate owned by Hearst Television that is carried on some Comcast cable systems beyond the station’s broadcast market.
KCRA serves the Sacramento television market, which includes nearly all of Solano County except for Vallejo and Benicia. Those two Solano County communities are served by the San Francisco television market. Television markets are designated by federal broadcast regulators.
Starting April 6, Comcast customers in Vallejo and Benicia will lose access to KCRA and will have to watch NBC programming on San Jose-based KNTV (Channel 11). KNTV is owned by NBC, which is a subsidiary of Comcast.
If this sounds like déjà vu, you’re not going crazy: Comcast issued a similar notice to customers in Vallejo and Benicia last November, warning subscribers that KCRA would be dropped after the cable company failed to reach an agreement with Hearst over out-of-market carriage.
That issue was settled one month later after federal lawmakers intervened and urged Comcast to reach a deal to continue providing some Hearst stations to their out-of-market constituents.
But the deal appears to have been a temporary fix now that Comcast says it is moving forward with plans to drop around 12 Hearst-owned stations in 10 service areas where the stations do not technically serve the broadcast market.
KCRA is one of two Hearst stations in California impacted by the decision. The other KSBW-TV (Channel 8), serves the Monterey Bay television market and will be removed from Comcast’s video service in Santa Clara, which is also served by KNTV.
“While the neighboring or out-of-market broadcast station may no longer be available, you'll continue to have access to the local station affiliated with the same national network,” Comcast said in a notice to customers published this week. “This means that you won’t miss out on national programming, although it may be found on a different channel.”
Comcast says out-of-market viewers who want to continue watching KCRA’s news broadcasts can do so by downloading the free NewsOn app. Customers who have scheduled programs to record on KCRA will need to update their DVRs to accommodate the change.
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