Cox is the latest pay TV provider to decide to drop Chiller, leaving the future of the horror-themed channel in serious doubt.
The cable operator has notified its subscribers that it will remove the NBC-owned Chiller from all system lineups on November 8.
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Verizon dropped Chiller from all systems on October 1, while Charter and Dish removed it in February and April of this year respectively.
The Cox decision means that Chiller has lost access to more than 40 million homes in less than eight months. (Cox has roughly 4 million video subs; Dish has slightly less than 14 million; Charter has slightly less than 17 million; and Verizon has slightly less than 5 million.).
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In addition, Comcast, the nation’s largest cable operator, still does not carry Chiller, although it owns the channel via NBC. (DIRECTV and U-verse are Chiller’s two biggest carriers.)
Shortly before Verizon dropped Chiller, The TV Answer Man asked NBC if the network is still committed to Chiller. A network spokesperson did not respond to our inquiry.
Today, we have asked NBC again for a comment and will report back here if we receive one.
Update: An NBC spokesperson issued this statement tonight:
“NBCUniversal values Chiller as the leading cable net dedicated to the horror genre.”
The spokesperson did not elaborate.
(Pictured above: All Cheerleaders Die, a movie that plays occasionally on the Chiller channel.)
— Phillip Swann
That spokesman’s obviously just stating what the higher-ups want him to. PR bull, and nothing but. This channel’s dead in all but technical respects, and everyone knows it. Frankly, I’m not especially broken up about its demise. I’m not really a horror guy, so I never really cared about it outside of its insanely short-lived anime block on Wednesdays a couple of years back (as in, it only lasted like three weeks!).
The Chiller Channel is a waste due to old and uninteresting content. It truly amazes me how these conglomerate content providers think we will pay for “themed” channels with dated content and commercials. Meanwhile in the IPTV world, there is noise beinig made (Pluto TV, SET TV, Nitro, CloudChannel, etc.).Possible landing spot for these niche channels? Hmmm ….
A “horror” themed channel in standard definition, full of commercials, and censored content. There’s absolutely nothing to like about it, so good riddance.
Will the Chiller Channel be dropped by DirecTV and U-verse sometime in the near future?
I just turned to the Chiller channel to watch reruns of The Outer Limits and was disgusted to learn the Cox Cable had discontinued carrying it. The only notice Cox provides is a message on the channel itself (for which the pop-up menu still provides the current programming) that says: “As of November 8, Cox no longer carries the Chiller channel. We apologize for the inconvenience. Thank you for being a Cox customer.” I’m irate about it. I noticed my excessive monthly cable bill hasn’t decreased to accommodate me for the loss of the channel. I called up Cox to leave a complaint with the appropriate Cox department. I hope others will do the same.
Yeah, it was “full of commercials and censored content”, but (ever since the SciFi Channel stopped providing scifi/horror content in 2007), it was the only remaining channel on which one could find actual scifi and horror content (e.g., the X-files, The Outer Limits, One Step Beyond, The Twilight Zone, Millennium, The First Wave, Stargate SG1, etc.,). Is anybody aware of any cable TV service that continues to carry the Chiller Channel or of a some way I might otherwise access it?
My main channels are syfi and chiller so I’m pretty upset chiller is gone and syfi is playing terrible shows over and Over. Will I be reimbursed for these channels
Not likely.