Hilton HHonors - HH TV Channels: Why ESPN Ocho, but not Comedy Central?

You know, I'm sure there are lots of people who want to watch ESPN Classic when they're in the Doubletree. Though I don't understand why people watch Fox News, I appreciate its entertainment value. But, with the sheer number of news and sports programming selections available on the average HH hotel, why no Comedy Central?

I am clearly in the demographic that gets its news from John Stewart and, now, Stephem Colbert. Why not please me?

I commit my 60+ days of domestic travel to a hotel chain that promises me South Park. Can't we sacrifice ESPN 8 to Comedy Central?

Timothy

Sorry about the rant... I'm just tired of missing The Daily Show.

Yeah, no kidding, why is Comedy Central never available? I need my South Park! Okay, so my DVR records just about every episode and I can watch it on weekends when I'm home, but I miss being able to see it, and some of the other great shows on Comedy Central, during the week. What gives?

And why is it that these days it seems every Hampton I stay in has the breakfast area TV on Fox News during the morning? Whatever happened to CNN being on?

And why is it that these days it seems every Hampton I stay in has the breakfast area TV on Fox News during the morning? Whatever happened to CNN being on?

Hampton is trying to stay "fair and balanced" ;) .

Actually last week at the Hilton in SLC I seem to remember Comedy Central.

I'm sure that they've done some demographic study about frequent guests and found that they're most likely to be right-wing sports nuts into Law and Order reruns, but perhaps its similar to my inability to get a decent newspaper in the morning. McPaper, meet McNews.

Seriously... Comedy Central is one of the most popular basic cable networks. There must be some logic to the channel selections, if only because they're so consistently bad. ;)

Timothy

I, too, am a Jon Stewart addict. The first thing I do when I get to a hotel room is turn on the TV and see if they have Comedy Central.

I am willing to admit it... it makes my trip when I stay at a hotel that does have Comedy Central :D

I find that recently, lower-end hotels have started to expand to a wider range of TV channels. Case in point: My parents stayed at a Super 8 while visiting me over the weekend, and they had about 70 channels at their disposal (including Comedy Central).

But higher-end hotels are stuck with the same old, same old. Case in point: I'm in a full-service Marriott right now that has maybe 20, including ESPN Classic (I don't get it, I love football, but I don't want to watch old games!), but no Comedy Central :(

What drives me nuts is that you know the hotel has some sort of cable hookup if they are able to provide ESPN, HBO, TNT, etc. Why do they "turn off" certain channels?

I've been on the road the past two weeks in non-Comedy Central hotels, and my TiVo at home is on the fritz, so I haven't even gotten to see Stephen Colbert yet :(

Oh, another pet peeve: When you are on the West Coast but the hotel doesn't have Pacific feeds for its channels. So the Daily Show comes on at the exact same time it does on the East Coast... 8 pm (11 pm Eastern), replaying at 10 pm (1 am Eastern). By the time you tune in at 11 pm Pacific, which is when it comes on at home for me, you've missed all the showings :(

Sorry for the ramblings, but it is so nice to know I'm not alone :D. Maybe we should start a sticky with Comedy Central-friendly hotels? :)

I think some of it depends on how the hotel is receiving its television signal. Some are connected to the local cable system (I see this most often in Hamptons in smaller markets) and are carrying whatever is on that system's basic lineup. These are the places where channels like Comedy Central have been more likely to be available. In other cases, the hotel is receiving a satellite signal from a service for hotels (more likely in larger hotels and those offering things like pay-per-view movies). And that's when you're less likely to see certain channels.

One of the main reasons that I stay at the Hilton Garden Inn is Houston is because they have Comedy Central!

It's pretty sad when the so called 'fake news' is more informative then the real news. Not sure what I think about the Colbert Report though... was excited about it but don't think they have the formula quite right. You don't realize how good Jon Stewart is until someone else tries to do what he's doing.

Anyways, totally agree that more chains should have Comedy Central... I just don't feel right when I don't get my daily dose! :D

This thread reminds me of my stay at Doubletree Key West: 4 free movie channels, but no PBS.

I was very impressed with channel selection at the Chicago Hilton. All the basics were available including Comedy Channel and fx, which is becoming one of my favorites. All that on a great flat screen 30" TV.
The O'Hare Hilton - very limited.

I believe both properties are run by the same management company, yet no consistency.

If the hotel has DirecTv, it is actually cheaper to buy the ESPN package than buy ESPN by itself. They price it that way so ESPN Classics and ESPNews get more exposure. If you want ESPN alone, you pay $3.15 a month per room, but if you also show ESPN2, ESPN Classics, and ESPNews, then you only pay $2.80 for all 4.

Here is the DirecTv commercial site:

http://www.directv.com/DTVAPP/buy/Business_Lodging.jsp

Click on the "Lodging/Institutions Kit" link for a breakdown on the pricing.

The Hilton Charlotte University Place has NO "WB" - really sucks.

Lousy hotel as well. Very poor room service. Not to mention lousy internet access.

The reason they don't offer the full basic cable lineup in most properties is so that they can use the bandwidth to sell you pay-per-view and lame porn. There is more money to be made that way.

Many hotels buy their programming from a packager, rather than from the local cable company. The basic hotel packages packages offered by On Command/DirecTV simply don't include Comedy Central at this point. Don't blame the local hotel, they aren't ordering cable channels from a "Chinese Restaurant Menu"; they're simply delivering the signals that are part of the package they (or headquarters) bought. You'll notice there aren't any other Viacom channels (MTV/VH1/Comedy Central/Showtime) in the basic package either...

Most of the big cable companies don't offer a very good hotel package either; it takes a lot of work on their part to negotiate separate carriage terms for hotels and other public outlets, and the blackout and other restrictions/requirements are a nightmare to implement. Comcast does a good job, but they're an exception.

And don't even think about getting HD in-room any time soon...

The Palmer House doesn't have UPN. That made me crazy, I missed Top Model every week. I had to do the TiVo catch up thing on the weekends.

Yeah, I noticed the poor wifi too on the exec level. Course, it was fine as long as I stood on my head with my laptop held at a 35 degree angle. The Exec Lounge wifi was much better, for what it's worth. :o


The Hilton Charlotte University Place has NO "WB" - really sucks. Lousy hotel as well. Very poor room service. Not to mention lousy internet access.