Ketchikan residents will no longer have access to cable television starting next fall. Ketchikan Public Utilities, the island’s last provider, announced it would be sunsetting cable services next year. KPU says that subscribers have gone down and operation costs have gone up as people nationwide turn away from local TV and towards streaming services.
It’s a commercial longtime Ketchikan residents might recognize.
“Are you sitting at home wondering exactly how windy it is? Exactly how cold?” KPU TV’s Michelle O’Brien asks the viewer in the 2010 ad. She is standing on a beach in jeans and a windbreaker. Snow is flying past her sideways. “It’s freezing! Only KPU has the only truly local weather node located right here in Bar Harbor.“
The video quality seems grainy for something made just over a decade ago. But soon, cable commercials like this one are going to be even more of a relic in Ketchikan.
By September of 2024, cable cords in every household will be cut. KPU Telecommunications announced on Dec. 4 that it can no longer compete with providers offering video streaming services.
“When you have large companies, you know – Hulu, Fubo, Netflix, YouTube TV, I mean, there’s a whole bunch of them – they’re all trying to increase their market share and it’s disrupting the whole marketplace, but this transition’s been in play for 10 years and it’s kind of just accelerated in the last five,” said Dan Lindgren, KPU telecommunications manager.
Lindgren has a cable box in his home. When asked if he’s going to miss it, he doesn’t get sentimental.
“No, nope. I’m ready to completely transition for sure,” Lindgren said.
There are many who aren’t though. Lindgren estimated currently about 20% of KPU customers are cable subscribers. He knows that this transition won’t be easy for some.
Specifically, the older demographic that may not be used to smart TVs and the overwhelming number of streaming options available. Lindgren assured that they won’t be left behind in the transition though.
“We will really have a focused effort on making sure that we support them and do everything we can to make sure that they have their video entertainment needs fulfilled,” he said.
He noted that for KPU, it’s not just that less people are tuning in to cable TV but that it’s getting more expensive to offer.
“You know, we just got to the point where it just doesn’t make sense anymore,” Lindgren said.
People who watch KPU cable do so on set-top boxes. Lindgren explained that equipment is becoming obsolete faster and faster, and they can’t replace every box on the island, in addition to more costly content and licensing fees.
GCI, the other cable provider in Ketchikan, suspended service in 2021.
Ketchikan’s cable system was the first in the state. In October of 1953, cable television debuted in the Elks Club and a few bars around town. Anchorage got cable a couple months later.
KPU TV didn’t come along until 2005 though, according to Lindgren. When they did, they offered local programming like the show “Live in Ketchikan.”
In a press release, KPU assured customers that it will still produce local content such as high school sports, arts, cultural events, and other community-focused video content. It will just be streamed exclusively on internet and mobile apps.
Get in touch with the author at jack@krbd.org.
