Q. I got a notice that Comcast is moving the Cartoon Network out of my package. How can they do that and when will it happen? How can I get it back? My kids love that channel. — Emily, Deale, Maryland.
Emily, Comcast tomorrow will move the Cartoon Network channel from its lower-tier plans (such as Digital Starter) to the more expensive Preferred and Preferred+ packages. The cable operator has notified subscribers of the change on its web site and in monthly bills.
“The Cartoon Network will be moving to the Digital Preferred or Preferred packages on April 13, 2021,” the Comcast notice reads. “After that date, it’ll no longer be available in other packages. Our goal is to always deliver the shows and movies our customers love to watch at the best value possible. With programming costs continuing to rise, moving Cartoon Network allows us to avoid passing these rising costs to customers, while still offering the channel for customers who value it.”
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The Cartoon Network is the home of such popular children’s fare as Teen Titans Go, DC Super Hero Gils, Craig of the Creek and Gumball. Knowing the possible backlash that the switch may incur, Comcast is allowing subscribers to upgrade their lower-tier plans to Preferred for $10 a month above their current price for the next 12 months. That’s roughly a $10 a month savings if you upgraded without the promotion. (After the 12 months, regular rates will apply.)
If you don’t upgrade, you won’t be able to watch the Cartoon Network live, or record future episodes of Cartoon Network shows. However, you can still watch anything from the Cartoon Network that you previously recorded.
Why is Comcast doing this?
By placing the channel in a pricier tier that has fewer subscribers, the cable operator will not have to pay Turner, the Cartoon Network’s owner, as much money in carriage fees. (Carriage fees are usually determined by a rate multiplied by the number of potential viewers.)
If you want to learn more about upgrading, click here. The upgrade promotion is scheduled to expire on April 27. (The Preferred package has approximately 80 more channels than the Digital Starter plan.)
Emily, hope that helps. Happy viewing, and stay safe!
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@Emily – You might try signing up for a free trial of Hulu. (Reguarl, not Hulu Live.) For $7.99 you get access to a lot of on-demand Cartoon Network shows. You could test the trial for free to see if that is good enough for the kids. If so, $7.99 would be cheaper than what you’d pay Comcast.
Cable companies know pay TV isn’t the future so they’re going to squeeze whatever they can out of their existing customers.
The Cartoon Network is still on AT&T U-verse, so it won’t get a price upgrade, correct?
one more reason to stop paying for cable
The reason they give is a LIE!! They’re trying to force people to buy the upgrade!!
so the more popular a show is the greater the possibility it will be moved to another package?
It’s generally not the popularity, it’s the cost to the cable company. Comcast has to pay for the channels. Some are very cheap, some are not. For example, ESPN is one of the most (if not the most) expensive channel for the cable companies. So when the costs go up or are re-evaluated by the cable company they sometimes will decide to shift tiers. For example, they are saying that Cartoon Network is costing them more, so instead of passing on the costs to everyone who gets the lower tier they move it to the higher tier so that only people who want it will have to pay for it.
Not that any of that is a good thing. Basically it’s a way to maximize their profits while still making it sound like they’re thinking of the customer. It’s kinda the truth, but not the whole truth. 🙂
absolutely dirty…why don’t they just come up with an ala carte plan so that you can choose what you want to watch and don’t have to worry about channels being deprecated. Same thing happened with TMC…they take away reasons why you got the package you wanted and give you nothing back, so the net is you pay for things you don’t want….absolutely dirty
I signed up grudgingly with Comcast and got whatever the minimum extended package required was required to get Cartoon Network. 5 months later Comcast pulls the rug out from under me, having me locked into a 2-year contract that apparently they can modify at will, but we can’t. How is this not a breach of contract on their part?
FWIW, the widely hated Comcast corporation created that “Xfinity” brand in part because they wanted to run away from a brand name that has the worst customer service rating in America. It hasn’t occurred to any of those folks running the show that it’s their behavior we hate, not their name.
Go over to Youtube TV like I did for $65/mo. You will still get your cartoon network channel and other channels that comcast may have took away from people for no reason. Alot of kids are not happen when they turn on there tv and got a pop-up saying this channel is no longer available on this package. Please call Comcast to upgrade to receive his channel. I not gonna be happy later this winter 2022-23 when I go to Florida with the family for vacation and find out that the hotel cable doesn’t have this channel for free. Don’t want to miss watching my all time favorite show Teen Titans for 2 weeks before coming back home.