For the last several years, CurrentTV has been available via basic cable on Channel 192 for Verizon subscribers in MA. On Thursday, Verizon quietly dropped the channel. [EDIT: dropped from basic cable, but still available on premium channels]
It's odd that Verizon didn't announce the change in their in-system "news" page. I check that daily, because they sometimes have free offers to watch HBO for a week, etc. And it lists channel changes in the VerizonFIOS lineup. Usually the changes involve, say, dropping channels like "Lifetime Fitness", and the news comes about a month before the channel is dropped and a new one added.
But, on Thursday, Verizon dropped CurrentTV, with no announcement, for, at least, Tier 1 subscribers in Massachusetts.
The timing seems interesting, with Keith Olbermann's appearance on Monday, that they would drop it from basic cable, to the more premium channels, it's not even in HD.
Perhaps someone from Verizon can illuminate the issue. I'd love to know why this cable change wasn't handled like all the other changes.
Oh, and FoxNews is on Basic Cable. I find it very difficult to believe that FoxNews charges less licensing fees than Current freakin' TV.
11:20 AM PT: Update includes that CurrentTV is still available on Verizon, but it has been moved from Basic Cable to one of the Premium Tiers. Still, no notice of this change, and FoxNews is very much still in Basic Cable.