January 2nd, 2015 by WCBC Radio
Some channels being dropped by Atlantic Broadband may result in no local broadcasts of Pittsburgh Steeler games next season. The Cumberland Times News reports customers have expressed some concerns about not being able to view the Pittsburgh Steelers football games because WTAJ and WTAJ HD channels were dropped Monday. The football games air on several outlets including CBS, NBC, ABC and ESPN, with coverage dictated by the sports rights sold by the NFL, according to Lora Brink Lewis, matter communications for Atlantic Broadband. “So, Steelers games will no longer be available to Cumberland customers on this out of market CBS station,” said Lewis. “Atlantic Broadband has been proud to exclusively provide Cumberland residents with access to WTAJ for many years — something no other provider in the area has done. Unfortunately, as a result of the changing structure of the cable industry and broadcaster policies, this out of market duplicate station can no longer be offered.” Satellite providers also do not carry WTAJ in Cumberland because it is an out of market station for them as well, according to Lewis. Sam Dudley of Frostburg, who has been an Atlantic Broadband customer for 38 years, has called and visited Atlantic Broadband multiple times and called the Steelers’ marketing department to see if there is a way to still watch the team.
“For now I’m between a rock and a hard place. All I ever watch on my TV is Steelers, the weather and news for around $80 and if I can’t watch the Steelers there is no sense in watching. I can listen to the weather on the radio,” said Dudley.
With the WTAJ channels being dropped, 10 of the 16 Steelers games aren’t going to be able to viewed because they are afternoon games, according to Dudley.
“The main reason I and many people I know, have stayed with Atlantic Broadband is to receive the Steelers games,” writes Kevin Ray of Cumberland in a letter to the editor.
Atlantic Broadband also offers NFL Network and NFL RedZone, which provides viewers with detailed highlights and coverage of all teams, including the Steelers, according to Lewis.
NFL RedZone only shows when a football team scores, according to Dudley.
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