FROM STAFF REPORTS
TRAVERSE CITY -- Up North 2 and Northwestern Michigan College 13 may not be found in the usual places today.
On Monday, a federal judge denied Traverse City's request for a temporary restraining order to halt Charter Communications' plan to switch the two public access channels to other stations.
Judge Thomas Ludington, of the U.S. Eastern District Court in Bay City, ruled that financial compensation can make up for both potential interference from FM radio stations and lost branding efforts, according to his written order.
The city and the Mid-Michigan Area Cable and Telecommunications Consortium sought to prevent Charter from moving Up North 2 and Northwestern Michigan College 13 to analog channels 96 and 97, respectively. The city and consortium filed a federal lawsuit against Charter and sought a restraining order to prevent the planned switch before the case was heard in court.
Traverse City commissioners now must decide whether to proceed with the suit, said Mayor Chris Bzdok.
Charter officials are pleased with the court's decision because it allows the company to "move forward with planned advancements and upgrades" for its customers, said Joe Boullion, Charter's general manager in Traverse City, in a written statement.
Charter argued the channel switches will free up bandwidth for additional high definition services for cable subscribers. The channel changes were planned for today.
