Santa Barbara area subscribers to Cox Cable’s “Limited Basic” TV channels can no longer see the U.S. Senate in action or Book TV on Channel 48. Over the holidays, Cox switched C-Span 2 from Basic Cable Channel 48, included in a Basic Cable subscription, to Digital Channel 107, which requires leasing a digital receiver. C-Span 2 carries the proceedings of the US Senate when it is in session and, when it is not, carries Book TV, programming about nonfiction books. (The proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives are still available on Basic Cable Channel 47.) Since both C-Spans were created by the cable industry to be offered to cable viewers as a public service, this transfer of C-Span 2 into an “extra-fee” channel tier is most regrettable. C-Span viewers who do not want to pay extra nor have the nuisance of a digital receiver in order to see C-Span 2 may want to write to Cox urging them to return C-Span 2 to the Limited Basic channel lineup, and to write as well to those bodies involved in the periodic review of the Cox Cable contract for our area. — Pat Blakeslee
