High-def cable channels still limited for some in LA

Remember Scott Benson? We featured him in a front-page story in May after he complained about how few high-definition channels he and other Time Warner Cable subscribers in Southern California received. Turned out that the company's Los Angeles-area customers lagged far behind Philadelphia, San Diego, Houston, New York and other big cities when it came to crystal-clear programming.

Time Warner promised to add 12 more high-def channels by July 1 and an additional nine by the end of the year. Well, it's now August, and, in a case of the squeaky wheel not getting any grease, Benson still doesn't have any more than he did when he wrote the letter. On Friday he learned that, according to Time Warner's roll-out schedule, he and other residents in the Los Feliz/Hollywood area wouldn't get more high-def channels until Nov. 12.

"This is seriously the worst company ever," Benson said.

Residents of Eagle Rock, Huntington Beach and Calabasas might disagree. That's because those are among the neighborhoods that received more high-def channels on July 9, according to a Time Warner spokeswoman. North Hollywood, West Hollywood and parts of West L.A. will get their high-def channels Aug. 13. Destinations further afield such as Ojai and Lake Elsinore will get their additional channels Sept. 10.

"Someone who lives 10 minutes away can have more channels than me and we still pay the same amount?" Benson said. "That doesn't seem all that fair."

Time Warner spokeswoman Patricia Fregoso said that new channels are added based on when distribution sites are updated. The company wants to ensure "all the belts and buckles are tightened" at distribution sites, she said. "We want to make sure it's the best customer experience possible from area to area."

So far, Benson isn't having a top-notch customer experience. In fact, he said, he feels frustrated by the company's evasiveness. An especially sore point: Time Warner boasts on its website, "We are adding even more free HD channels all the time."

-- Alana Semuels

Semuels, a Times staff writer, covers marketing and the L.A. tech scene

Photo: Disgruntled Time Warner Cable customer Scott Benson. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times

Comments

[Bob Campbell]

Scott is lucky. We were just told when calling TW that is would be December before Thousand Oaks gets any additional Hi-Def channels. It is probably time to switch to Direct TV.

Disgruntled TW customer.

[jgc711]

Wow...I also wrote TW and complained why Cox has more HD channels than them and they charge even less. I got a reply that more HD channels will be added in July. It's already August and I haven't seen the addition. And as I read the article, it looks like they are concentrating in an area that does not include Diamond Bar. Maybe they are thinking of July 2009.

[Mike]

On July 1, I moved to Thousand Oaks from Simi Valley where I had ATT U-Verse TV. With ATT, I received a plethora of HD Channels with the usual HD surcharge or whatever: NFL Network HD, WGN HD, CNN HD, Nat'l Geo HD, plus all locals etc. The list goes on. Being from the Midwest, my personal favorite was the Big Ten Network HD which many carriers don't provide. I have 2 other complaints about TWC I won't list here, but due to the lack of HD channels, I will switch at the drop of a hat.