Time Warner Cable groups digital channels by genres

Tired of surfing back and forth across the wide universe of channels on your digital tiers? Time Warner Cable is making it easier for its subscribers to find the content and shows they want by grouping channels together into similar genres, such as sports.

Melissa Buscher, director of media relations for Time Warner Cable’s Carolina region, said the consumer-friendly effort started in Charlotte on March 31, then went to the South Carolina region, followed by Wilmington, Fayetteville and Raleigh, N.C. The groupings by genre will continue in the Triangle area and the north-central Triad region in North Carolina.

Basic subscribers won’t be impacted by the changes, but the digital cable tiers will have the new groupings.

In addition to making the theme-related shows easier to find for subscribers, Buscher said the effort also allows Time Warner Cable to have consistent groups whenever a new channel is added.

“With HD, we’ve added a lot of channels with no rhyme or reason,” she said. “On the operational side, this makes things more consistent.”

Subscribers who visit friends or relatives in other areas where the channels have been re-grouped will be able to use the same channel numbers that they’re used to with the new genres in place.

“It makes the viewing experience easier, and they might even find channels that they didn’t even know existed when they go to specific areas,” Buscher said.

While local channels under 100 will stay the same, the themed groupings will start in the 200 range and continue on to 1,100 and above and will include on-demand and HD groupings, as well.

In addition to learning the new channel numbers, digital subscribers might need to reset parental controls and favorite channels settings on their set-top boxes. Time Warner Cable said that scheduled DVR recordings, parental controls and favorite channels should automatically make the transition, but it’s best to check all of the settings once the new lineups are in place.

The groupings also make it easier for subscribers to find and view HD channels. Customers who wish to find a specific HD channel just need to add a “1” in front of the digital channel. For example, if ESPN is on channel 500, subscribers can punch in “1500” for ESPN HD.