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TMCNet: 4.5 percent rate increase kicks in for Comcast customers

[July 03, 2012]

4.5 percent rate increase kicks in for Comcast customers

Jul 03, 2012 (The Santa Fe New Mexican - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Rate increases averaging 4.5 percent kicked in Sunday for customers of Comcast, New Mexico's largest cable television provider.

The company announced the hike in statements sent to customers in June, but a Comcast spokeswoman said the increase wouldn't immediately impact more than half of its 200,000 New Mexico customers because they receive services as part of a promotional offer.

As for the rest, the increase depends on the type of services. Standard cable service increased to $67.49 per month from $63.99. The Triple Play Package Preferred+ bundle changed to $201.89 per month from $196.89. Blast! Internet services increased to $48.95 per month from $45.95.

Cindy Parsons, vice president for public relations for Comcast in Denver, said the hike is due to "the impact of higher programming costs and increasing operating expenses." "We continue making investments in next-generation technology to add value to our products and improve service, and are adding channels, and launching new interactive applications and multi-level platform content that customers want and value," she said in an email.

Satellite-dish companies and shops that sell television antenna equipment said they had yet to see any upswing in sales due to increasing cable costs. But national media have reported many Americans are dropping pay TV services in favor of streaming shows and movies over the Internet.

Nine percent of households with televisions "cut the cord" for cable services in 2011, and another 11 percent said they planned to do so in the future, according to a survey released earlier this year.

But monthly cable fees, now averaging $86 nationally, continue to rise and are predicted to reach $200 by 2020.

"Cable prices won't go down unless cable investors get hurt, and that will only happen when even more customers cancel their cable," technology analyst Jeff Kagan told the MarketWatch wire service.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating alleged collusion between cable companies to restrict competition from online-video providers like Netflix, Google and Apple.

Contact Tom Sharpe at 9865-3080 or tsharpe@sfnewmexican.com.

___ (c)2012 The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) Visit The Santa Fe New Mexican (Santa Fe, N.M.) at www.santafenewmexican.com Distributed by MCT Information Services

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