The Changeover is Beginning

I got this note tonight from a TechTV viewer who watches on his C-Band satellite dish:

I have been watching on C-Band satellite since the network started. There was a message on the screen tonight saying that the signal was going to digital and after some searching on the web, it will be using PowerVu technology and only available to cable head ends.

I had always taken it as a point of pride that TechTV was in the clear on the big dishes. And many of our first viewers were C-Band users. This is likely the first of many changes Comcast will be making as they assume control of TechTV and merge it with G4. At least one Charter subscriber reports on the message boards that starting May 1 TechTV is being moved to digital channel 998 in his area - the cable equivalent of invisibility. The Hart-Scott-Rodino regulatory period ends in the next few days. Things should start happening very quickly after that. No one at G4 has told us what their plans are but rumors are flying that there will be some serious changes to the lineup. I'll keep you posted here as the story develops.