Bright House Networks
Encyclopedia
Bright House Networks is a cable television
company, the seventh largest cable (video) operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse
, headquartered in Syracuse, New York
. The company provides service to cities including Indianapolis
, Central Florida
(Orlando
/Daytona Beach
areas), Tampa Bay
area, Lakeland
, Birmingham-Hoover area, west suburban Detroit, and Bakersfield
. Most of its business is concentrated in Central Florida, where Bright House is the dominant cable system in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets.
Cable TV, Group W
Cable, Strategic Cable, Paragon Cable
and the Tampa Bay / Orlando Time Warner Cable systems in Florida.
All of the systems now owned by Bright House were owned by the Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership but, under a deal struck in 2003, Advance/Newhouse took direct management and operational responsibility for portion of the partnership cable systems roughly equal to their equity. Ostensibly, this was due to A/N's dissatisfaction with Time Warner Cable's strategic direction. Bright House Networks provides customers in Indianapolis, Central Florida, Michigan, Tampa Bay and Alabama with Digital Services.
Bright House Networks currently offers TV Service (analog, digital and HD), high speed internet, wireless home networking, and digital phone in most areas. In addition, Bright House operates two regional local news channels -- Bay News 9
in the Tampa Bay market, and Central Florida News 13
in the Orlando market. Bright House has an extensive fiber optic network in Central Florida and leverages it to provide commercial services including dedicated Internet access, VPN services, and private network transport as well as telecom facilities such as SIP trunking and PRI service.
in Orlando, Florida
; Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida
, the spring training
home of the Phillies
; and the Bright House Networks Amphitheatre in Bakersfield, California
. There is also a sporting event, the Bright House Networks Open
golf tournament, held in Lakeland, Florida
.
; however, Bright House is also involved in most disputes involving Time Warner Cable, as they also handle negotiations on behalf of Bright House.
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
company, the seventh largest cable (video) operator and the sixth largest traditional multiple system operator in the United States owned by Advance/Newhouse
Advance Publications
Advance Publications, Inc., is an American media company owned by the descendants of S.I. Newhouse Sr., Donald Newhouse and S.I. Newhouse, Jr. It is named after the Staten Island Advance, the first newspaper owned by the Newhouse family...
, headquartered in Syracuse, New York
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse is a city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States, the largest U.S. city with the name "Syracuse", and the fifth most populous city in the state. At the 2010 census, the city population was 145,170, and its metropolitan area had a population of 742,603...
. The company provides service to cities including Indianapolis
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
, Central Florida
Central Florida
Central Florida is a regional designation for the area surrounding Orlando in east central Florida, United States. The area represents the third largest population concentration in Florida, after the South Florida and Tampa Bay regions, respectively....
(Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
/Daytona Beach
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
areas), Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay Area
The Tampa Bay Area is the region of west central Florida adjacent to Tampa Bay. Definitions of the region vary. It is often considered equivalent to the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater Metropolitan Statistical Area defined by the United States Census Bureau. The Census Bureau currently...
area, Lakeland
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
, Birmingham-Hoover area, west suburban Detroit, and Bakersfield
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. Most of its business is concentrated in Central Florida, where Bright House is the dominant cable system in the Tampa and Orlando TV markets.
History
Prior to 1994, some of the systems were fully owned by A/N under the names Vision Cable and Cable Vision (no relation to Cablevision Systems), while in other areas, Bright House is the successor to TeleprompterTeleprompter
An autocue is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script. Using a teleprompter is similar to the practice of using cue cards...
Cable TV, Group W
Westinghouse Broadcasting
The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndication....
Cable, Strategic Cable, Paragon Cable
Paragon Cable
Paragon Cable was a cable system based in Minneapolis, Minnesota and was owned by Houston Industries.-Beginnings:Formed in the 1980s, Paragon Cable was the largest cable provider in Minnesota with 177,100 subscribers in the Twin Cities and South Central Minnesota...
and the Tampa Bay / Orlando Time Warner Cable systems in Florida.
All of the systems now owned by Bright House were owned by the Time Warner Entertainment - Advance/Newhouse Partnership but, under a deal struck in 2003, Advance/Newhouse took direct management and operational responsibility for portion of the partnership cable systems roughly equal to their equity. Ostensibly, this was due to A/N's dissatisfaction with Time Warner Cable's strategic direction. Bright House Networks provides customers in Indianapolis, Central Florida, Michigan, Tampa Bay and Alabama with Digital Services.
Bright House Networks currently offers TV Service (analog, digital and HD), high speed internet, wireless home networking, and digital phone in most areas. In addition, Bright House operates two regional local news channels -- Bay News 9
Bay News 9
Bay News 9 is a cable news television network located in St Petersburg, Florida. It currently serves the Tampa Bay Area including Hillsborough, Pinellas, Manatee, Polk, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties...
in the Tampa Bay market, and Central Florida News 13
Central Florida News 13
Central Florida News 13 is a cable news television station located in Orlando, Florida. It currently serves the greater Central Florida areas including Volusia County, Seminole County, Orange County, Osceola County, Lake County, Marion County, Flagler County, and Brevard County...
in the Orlando market. Bright House has an extensive fiber optic network in Central Florida and leverages it to provide commercial services including dedicated Internet access, VPN services, and private network transport as well as telecom facilities such as SIP trunking and PRI service.
Naming rights
Bright House Networks owns the naming rights to UCF's Bright House Networks StadiumBright House Networks Stadium
Bright House Networks Stadium is the football stadium for the University of Central Florida’s football team, nicknamed the Knights. Located in Knights Plaza on the main campus of the University of Central Florida in Orlando, Florida, the stadium was the first on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I...
in Orlando, Florida
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
; Bright House Field in Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater, Florida
Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, US, nearly due west of Tampa and northwest of St. Petersburg. In the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and in the east lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 108,787. It is the county seat of...
, the spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
home of the Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
; and the Bright House Networks Amphitheatre in Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley in Kern County, California. It is roughly equidistant between Fresno and Los Angeles, to the north and south respectively....
. There is also a sporting event, the Bright House Networks Open
Bright House Networks Open
The Bright House Networks Open was an annual golf tournament for professional women golfers on the FUTURES Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour. The event was part of the FUTURES Tour's schedule from 1998 through 2008. From 1998 through 2003 it was played at The Club at Eaglebrooke. Since 2004 it...
golf tournament, held in Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland, Florida
Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States, located approximately midway between Tampa and Orlando along Interstate 4. According to the 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimate, the city had a population of 94,406...
.
Carriage controversies
All controversies below primarily involve Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable is an American cable television company that operates in 28 states and has 31 operating divisions...
; however, Bright House is also involved in most disputes involving Time Warner Cable, as they also handle negotiations on behalf of Bright House.
- In July 2010, ABC's Parent company, DisneyThe Walt Disney CompanyThe Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...
, announced that it is involved in a carriage dispute with Disney for the first time with Time Warner Cable since 2000 (Time Warner Cable was affected in that carriage dispute back in 2000). In Bright House-served areas, the dispute involves the Disney ChannelDisney ChannelDisney Channel is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company. It is under the direction of Disney-ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney. The channel's headquarters is located on West Alameda Ave. in...
, Disney XDDisney XDDisney XD is a brand of children's TV channels worldwide targeting young males, owned by The Walt Disney Company. The channel was formerly known as Toon Disney and/or Jetix in most areas. According to Gary Marsh, President of Entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, "XD" does not "stand for...
, ABC FamilyABC FamilyABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
, and all the networks of ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
. Despite word of an early agreement on August 30, 2010, it was not until the evening of the September 2 deadline when an agreement was reached between Disney and Time Warner Cable.
- In December 2009, the Fox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting CompanyFox Broadcasting Company, commonly referred to as Fox Network or simply Fox , is an American commercial broadcasting television network owned by Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation. Launched on October 9, 1986, Fox was the highest-rated broadcast network in the...
announced that a dispute with Time Warner Cable could lead to Fox's owned and operated affiliates to be pulled from Bright House systems in the Detroit, Tampa Bay, Orlando and Gainesville markets, along with Fox's cable and sports channels in all markets served by Bright House. The carriage protests were announced shortly before Fox was to carry the Bowl Championship SeriesBowl Championship SeriesThe Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...
, which included the Florida Gators2009 Florida Gators football teamThe 2009 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2009 college football season...
in the Sugar Bowl2010 Sugar BowlThe 2010 Sugar Bowl Game was an American college football bowl game that was part of the Bowl Championship Series for the 2009 NCAA Division I FBS football season and was the 76th Sugar Bowl...
. The dispute excluded Fox News ChannelFox News ChannelFox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, Fox Business NetworkFox Business NetworkFox Business Network is an American cable news and satellite news television channel that began broadcasting on October 15, 2007. It is owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation...
and some regional sports channels, which are on separate contracts. Shortly before the 12 Midnight ET deadline on December 31, 2009, Fox granted Time Warner Cable and Bright House a brief extension during New Year's Day as talks continue, so that viewers would not miss the Sugar Bowl, though the other bowl games and the NFL lineup remained at risk. A settlement between the two parties was reached the evening of January 1, 2010, though no terms were disclosed; during the discussions that day, none of Fox's channels or stations were blacked out. - On September 15, 2008 Bright House temporarily dropped stations owned by the LIN TV Corporation on its PensacolaPensacola, FloridaPensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...
, DeFuniak Springs and Indiana systems. Affected stations were WALA-TVWALA-TVWALA-TV is the Fox-affiliated television station for Southern Alabama, Southeastern Mississippi, and the Western Florida Panhandle that is licensed to Mobile. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on VHF channel 9 from a transmitter in Spanish Fort, Alabama...
in Mobile, AlabamaMobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, WISH-TVWISH-TVWISH-TV, virtual channel 8, is the CBS-affiliated television station for Central Indiana licensed to Indianapolis. Owned by the LIN TV Corporation, WISH-TV is part of a duopoly with MyNetworkTV affiliate WNDY-TV and the two share studios on North Meridian Street at the north end of Indianapolis'...
/WNDY-TVWNDY-TVWNDY-TV is the MyNetworkTV-affiliated television station for Central Indiana licensed to Marion. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 32 from a transmitter in White River Township north of Strawtown. The station can also be seen on Comcast and Bright House Networks channel 10...
/WIIH-CAWIIH-CAWIIH-LD is a low-powered television station in Indianapolis, Indiana. The station is operating on digital channel 8 . It was owned and operated by LIN TV, and is a sister station to WISH-TV and WNDY-TV.-Present status:...
in IndianapolisIndianapolisIndianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
and WANE-TVWANE-TVWANE-TV is the CBS-affiliated television station for Northern Indiana licensed to Fort Wayne. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 31 from a transmitter at studios on West State Boulevard in Northwest Fort Wayne/Tower Heights section of the city. The station can also be...
in Fort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne, IndianaFort Wayne is a city in the US state of Indiana and the county seat of Allen County. The population was 253,691 at the 2010 Census making it the 74th largest city in the United States and the second largest in Indiana...
. Even though the controversy was focused on Time Warner Cable systems, Bright House was included in the dispute, in areas where they were formerly owned by Time Warner. With both companies factored in, a total of 15 markets were affected. - On December 31, 2008, Time Warner Cable and ViacomViacomViacom Inc. , short for "Video & Audio Communications", is an American media conglomerate with interests primarily in, but not limited to, cinema and cable television...
's MTV NetworksMTV NetworksMTV Networks is a division of media conglomerate Viacom that oversees the operations of many television channels and Internet brands, including the original MTV channel in the United States...
had not agreed to renew any Viacom channel beyond the end of year. Therefore, Time Warner and Bright House Networks would have lost all 19 Viacom channels (including Comedy CentralComedy CentralComedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
and NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
) starting on January 1, 2009. This blackout was narrowly avoided when a zero-hour deal was reached shortly after 12 Midnight ET on January 1, 2009.