Information and history for Central Florida News 13, the 24-hour cable news station for Orlando.
Owner: Bright House Networks
Slogan: “All Local, All the Time”
News: 24-hour cable news channel
Etc: Used to share content with the Orlando Sentinel (which owned 50 percent of the channel from its start until 2003), with the Sentinel offering its reporters or editors for on-air talkbacks or interviews for exclusive and/or breaking news. Even after the Sentinel sold its stake in the channel, News 13 continue to reside in a Sentinel-owned building just across the street from the newspaper’s main building. That building wass no stranger to broadcasting. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, it housed AP NewsPlus, a videotext cable news service. But in late 2005, News 13 moved off the Sentinel campus to a new state-of-the-art headquaters in a downtown Orlando highrise. To improve it visibility, the station installed a news “zipper” outside the building as well as a jumbo video screen to show CFN 13 programming to those passing by the building.
Station History: CFN went on the air in the fall of 1997, owned jointly by the Sentinel and Time Warner (which was bought out by Bright House). The Sentinel’s TV critic blasted early newscasts as amateurish, boring and plain bad. The station has improved since then. It’s a key asset for Bright House since it offers the channel exclusively on its cable systems in Central Florida. It’s main newscast seems to be its 11 p.m. show, which offers the longest sportscast in Central Florida.
Digital subchannel programming: Offers a 24-hour weather channel, a Spanish-language version of News 13 and an HD version on Bright House’s digital tier.
This channel does not serve the community. It is nothing more than a platform for advertising Brighthouse. Can not contact by telephone or by internet. It is useless.
Example: At approx 5:50 PM on 10/3, they ran an alert that major crash had closed northbound I95 as a result of a fatal accident. I95 runs throughout Brevard, Volusia and Flagler Counties. 25 minutes later, still had not identified where on I95. Said go to traffic alerts at http://www.cf13news.com. Only thing one can do is sign up for alerts via email or cel phone. Just wanted to know where road was closed as I had plans to go to I95 north.
Looked up phone number, called. Finally hung up after no one answered, machine or otherwise after 30+rings.
I am forced to be a subscriber to Brighthouse and until today when I turned on my TV, it automatically started with Channel 13. From this point on, I will never watch it again
I think it is terrible that everyone is sending money for Haiti,i feel bad,but no one told them to have more kids than they can afford,we got enough foreigners now in Florida on Welfare,an dour unemployment rate is terrible and we can’t sell our homes for what we payed in 05/06 for now they are worth peanuts,so we are doomed,and stuck in a foreign state,for this is not the florida I knew,this is like a foreign country,and letting all thouse immigrants come to Florida and most of them got Aids,we don’t need them or want them,send them to ellis island or some other third world country. Why does Us keep helping all the foreigners,we got enough homeless families here,why don’t the government help ou rown first,help people save their homes,get jobs, first even darn movie stars help the foreign countries but do they ever help our own americans,all mmy friends are sick of seeing this country help all the foreigners,not anyone is doing anything about helping homeless families who do not want to be homeless,wake up America, help our own first. My friends and neighbors will not give one dime to foreigners,while their government lives like kings.
Heard the boom at 9:04 am at A1A and Ocean Grove in Ormond by the Sea. (4/20/2010)
Have followed the space program since it began. Go USA.