U-T San Diego announced today it is pulling its U-T TV operation off cable television systems and will instead focus its multimedia efforts on digital platforms like computers, tablets and smartphones.
The last television broadcast will be tonight, according to the newspaper. The television operation lasted less than two years.
“Our business model has always been this — we will try new ideas and continue to evolve as a company to provide the best content and information possible for our audience and our advertisers,” said U-T San Diego Chairman and Publisher “Papa” Doug Manchester, who bought the company in 2011.
U-T TV airs on channel 114 on Cox Cable and channels 17 and 1017 on AT&T U-Verse. According to the newspaper, it was unable to reach a carriage deal with Time Warner Cable, and the Cox channel was available only to digital subscribers.
A “few dozen” of U-T TV’s 45 or so employees will remain with the operation to produce online videos, the newspaper reported. Video news updates will be uploaded hourly, along with sports, entertainment, business and political reports.
— City News Service