InfoMás

InfoMás (better known as Spectrum InfoMás as of September 24, 2017) was an American Spanish-language cable news television channel that is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition of Bright House Networks in May 2016. The channel provided 24-hour rolling news coverage focused on the Tampa Bay Area and Central Florida.[1] The channel was carried on Charter Spectrum digital channel 900 and in high definition on digital channel 1900.[2]

InfoMás
CountryUnited States
Broadcast areaTampa/St. Petersburg/Orlando, Florida
HeadquartersOrlando, Florida
Programming
Language(s)Spanish
Picture format1080i (HDTV)
480i (SDTV)
Ownership
OwnerBright House Networks (2011-2016)
Charter Communications (2016-2017)
Sister channelsBay News 9
News 13
Spectrum Sports (Florida)
History
LaunchedJuly 12, 2011 (2011-07-12)
ReplacedBay News 9 en Español (Tampa Bay)
Central Florida News 13 en Español (Central Florida)
ClosedNovember 20, 2017 (2017-11-20)

On October 31, 2017, Charter announced that the network would be shut down within the month of November, as they claimed that Hispanic viewers gravitated towards the traditional English news coverage of Bay News 9 in Tampa and News 13 in Orlando.[3] Most of the existing InfoMás staff were let go. The channel ceased operations on November 20, 2017 and it now says "Este canal ha dejado de estar operativo." ("This channel is no longer in operation.")

History

The channel traced its history to the launches of two separate Spanish language news channels owned by the former Bright House Networks. In Fall 2001, then Bay News 9 General Manager Elliott Wiser announced the creation of a local Spanish news channel. Bay News 9 en Espanol launched in March 2002. It provided news coverage and other news content focused the Tampa Bay area's Hispanic community. It was the first local news channel in the United States to provide local news and weather segments in Spanish 24 hours a day. The success of Bay News 9 En Español, Bright House launched a Spanish-language spin-off of its Orlando-based news channel Central Florida News 13, Central Florida News 13 en Español, in December 2006.

On March 11, 2011, Bright House Networks announced it would merge Bay News 9 and Central Florida News 13's respective Spanish-language news channels into a single regional news channel called InfoMás, which would produce regional newscasts focused on the Tampa and Orlando areas with reports and political coverage from both areas; plans also called for the launch of a talk show produced out of News 13's Orlando studios, Spanish language broadcasts of professional baseball and basketball games.[4][5] The channel formally launched on July 12, 2011.[6] The channel maintained reporters based in both Tampa Bay and Central Florida.

Programming

Like its English language counterparts, InfoMás covered local, national and international news stories, weather forecasts, entertainment and health stories, and sports; weather segments on the channel also incorporated weather forecasts for South America, the Caribbean and Mexico.

The channel also produced Revista InfoMás, a half-hour weekday magazine program covering politics, immigration, education and other news subjects that affect the Hispanic and Latin American community residing in the central third of Florida.[7] In lieu of a Spanish-language regional sports network in either of the two markets that InfoMás serves, the channel also carried sporting events including NBA games from the Orlando Magic, and Major League Baseball games from the Tampa Bay Rays and the Miami Marlins; game telecasts feature commentary and analysis in Spanish.[8]

Notable former on-air staff

See also
  • Bay News 9 - a similar 24-hour regional cable news channel for the Tampa Bay Area operated by Charter Communications
  • News 13 - a similar 24-hour regional cable news channel for the Orlando area operated by Charter Communications

References
  1. "En la TV: Bright House Networks To Launch InfoMás". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  2. "TV Listings". Bright House Networks. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  3. Boedeker, Hal (31 October 2017). "Charter: InfoMás to cease operations in November". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  4. "Bright House Networks to merge Tampa Bay and Orlando Spanish language newschannels into InfoMás". St. Petersburg Times. March 11, 2011. Archived from the original on April 15, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.
  5. "Bright House Networks to launch super regional Spanish network". Bay News 9. March 9, 2011. Archived from the original on July 21, 2012. Retrieved August 4, 2014.
  6. "En la TV: Bright House Networks To Launch InfoMás". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  7. Staff. "InfoMás estrena este martes". Infomas. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
  8. "Juegos". Infomas. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
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