Bright House Networks has an attractive deal for cash-strapped baseball fans in Hillsborough County. And chances are you've probably never heard of it.
The Federal Communications Commission requires cable companies to offer customers a low-cost package of broadcast and public-access channels, without standard cable channels such as CNN or ESPN.
Bright House's version in Hillsborough County is a "limited basic" package that costs $14 a month. In addition to the required broadcast channels, the package also includes 24-hour news channel Bay News 9 as well as superstations WGN of Chicago, which broadcasts Cubs and White Sox games, and WTBS of Atlanta, TV home of the Braves. Throw in the Tampa Bay Devil Rays games shown on WXPX-Ch. 66 (PAX TV) and that's a lot of baseball for relatively little money. (Bright House's limited basic packages in the rest of the Tampa Bay area don't include WTBS.)
But it's a deal that doesn't get much notice because Bright House, like other cable companies, is more focused on promoting its pricier cable packages. For instance, if you order cable service from the company's Web site, the limited basic package doesn't even appear as an order option, although you can order it over the phone or in person.
"We can't feature every variation of the services we offer on our Web site," said Bright House spokesman Brian Aungst, who is also Clearwater mayor. "Therefore, we feature our most popular packages and offerings."
