We did it! WPBS will stay on the air in Ottawa!

Congratulations, fellow Ottawans! We did it!! I received the following e-mail from WPBS this morning:

July 31, 2009

Dear Friends of WPBS-TV:

CONGRATULATIONS! WPBS-TV and Rogers Cable have worked together to ensure a more reliable fiber connection, and WPBS-TV is able to continue serving the Ottawa Community! This news from Rogers could not have come at a better time. WPBS-TV and Rogers have created a more reliable feed source of our signal that is a win-win situation for both parties. In all sincerity Rogers has been kind and cooperative in the discussions with WPBS-TV over the past 48 hours.

Words alone can never describe how much the overwhelming outpour of support from our friends in the Ottawa area has meant to “the little station that could” over the past weeks. Special thanks go to the City of Ottawa Councillor Rick Chiarelli for his unwavering support, time and energy on behalf of the City of Ottawa and WPBS-TV; Gord McDougall, CFRA News Reporter & TV Commentator for his encouragement and friendship; and, the countless members, viewers, supporters & friends of WPBS-TV who refused to give up and remained committed to the end. We could name many, but without their permission we will wait to ‘brag them up.’

How does an organization go about thanking everyone for their character, depth of emotion and heart-felt hard work? We’re not quite sure just yet. But, believe us Ottawa, WPBS-TV will not let you down!

In the coming days, WPBS-TV will be creating on-air spots and making additional announcements with our on-line community of supporters. Please call us with any questions or concerns you may have. Or, just congratulate yourself on a job well done!

As always, we remain,

Tom Hanley, Lynn Brown & Staff

A big "thank you" and virtual hug to all the people who bombarded Rogers, the CRTC, Ottawa city councillors, and local newspapers with your protests against dropping WPBS! Good on ya, Ottawa.

Don't forget to tip your waitress - I'll be writing a thank you letter to the individuals mentioned above and the Ottawa city councillors, as well as Rogers and the CRTC, for their efforts in making this happen.

Now if you'll excuse me, I suspect there's something good on channel 64 right about now...

Save WPBS TV in Ottawa! - Update

So far, Rogers continues to insist on dropping WPBS. In the beginning they stated that the decision was "final." But recent correspondence suggests that they're getting the message and their resistance may be softening. I received the following message this morning from Rogers' Office of the President (emphasis mine). Note the absence of the word "final," instead being replaced with "at this time":

Dear {name},

Thank you for sending your complaint to the Office of the President regarding the channel realignment that will be taking place in August.  We understand that this is disruptive to some viewers and this is why we rarely make this kind of change. It has been with extensive analysis and viewer feedback that we have made this decision to acquire PBS Detroit.  PBS Detroit offers higher quality reception and signal reliability. We are aware that the local programming you have enjoyed will no longer be available as a result, but have been advised that there will be similar programming available. We have received complaints pertaining to this decision, but at this time, the realignment will still take place as scheduled. 

We do not take these complaints lightly, and have noted this accordingly. Your  feedback in regards to this channel lineup change is taken very seriously and will be voiced. We apologize for any inconvenience that this change may cause you. Thank you for being a loyal customer to Rogers during this time period of adjustment.

Sincerely,

{name} | Rogers Communications Inc. | Advisor | Office of the
President |

Now is the time to keep up the pressure. I have been advised by one city councillor that it will help build support in city council if we contact all of the councillors.

Here is a list for your convenience:

Doug.Thompson@ottawa.ca
Eli.El-Chantiry@ottawa.ca
Rick.Chiarelli@ottawa.ca
Peggy.Feltmate@ottawa.ca
Diane.Holmes@ottawa.ca
Peter.Hume@ottawa.ca
Gord.Hunter@ottawa.ca
Rob.Jellett@ottawa.ca
Jacques.Legendre@ottawa.ca
Maria.McRae@ottawa.ca
Bob.Monette@ottawa.ca
Shad.Qadri@ottawa.ca
Marianne.Wilkinson@ottawa.ca
Jan.harder@ottawa.ca
christine.leadman@ottawa.ca
Larry.OBrien@ottawa.ca
Michel.Bellemare@ottawa.ca
Georges.Bedard@ottawa.ca
Rainer.Bloess@ottawa.ca
Glenn.Brooks@ottawa.ca
Alex.Cullen@ottawa.ca
Clive.Doucet@ottawa.ca
Steve.Desroches@ottawa.ca
Diane.Deans@ottawa.ca

Please take a few minutes and let them know how you feel about this. There is a link to a petition and more people to contact, such as Rogers managers and government officials, in my previous post.

I am also sending this information to WPBS so they can help spread the word.

Save WPBS TV in Ottawa!

Rogers has decided to drop WPBS Watertown (channel 64) from its Ottawa cable lineup, despite what appears to be a sizable protest from its customers.

It is replacing it with Detroit PBS, which is 4 times farther away, which means there will no longer be PBS coverage of local events in our shared area, as there is now with Watertown PBS. We will also have less of a voice about our PBS programming, since we'll now have to compete with all of Detroit to get heard. In addition, WPBS may lose more than $300,000 in revenues from this decision since, as a border town, 70% of their audience is Canadian. Rogers claims this lineup change is at the request of its viewers, which is an insult to our intelligence considering the volume of protest against it.

WPBS is one of the few remaining channels that doesn't satisfy itself with airing a constant stream of brainless rubbish. It airs intelligent, educational, entertaining programs that serve the public good and Ottawans in particular. Thus, WPBS is one of the few reasons I still bother with Rogers Cable. Rogers' senseless decision to drop WPBS after decades of symbiotic relationship with Ottawan viewers is infuriating. It has prompted me to start researching UHF antennas in anticipation of their bullish insistence on ignoring their customers' wishes. I've put up with many other annoyances from them which have put me off, but if they remove their top channel too, that'll be the last straw.

The link above will bring you to a detailed description, along with a convenient list of phone numbers and e-mail addresses of officials you can contact to register your complaint. Please contact them and let them know how you feel. There is also a survey and petition you can sign here.