Sun outages may be affecting your TV service

What are sun outages?

• Twice a year, you may experience some degree of television interference due to "sun outages." Such outages are caused by a phenomenon called a “solar satellite interference." These brief outages occur when the sun passes directly behind satellites transmitting cable signals. When the sun is aligned with a satellite, solar radiation, an energy the sun is emitting, interferes with the satellite’s signal and thus causes a brief signal outage.

When do sun outages happen and how long do they last?

• Sun outages occur every year, in Fall and Spring, and last about a week each time. This Spring, sun outages are expected March 4 - March 9.

What kind of outage/interference can I expect?

• During the sun outage, you may experience a pixelated picture, picture freezes, or audio distortions for a brief period of time.

How can I tell if it’s caused by a sun outage or if something is wrong with my cable?

• The sun outage happens only during the day between 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (no sun, no interference) and is brief, lasting for a few minutes—from 3 minutes, up to 10 minutes.