inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA
1 edit | [Cable] That time again! Comcast to raise rates 7% Jan. 1
This is why I left for DTV.
3rd increase in 3 years riles customers of cable giant
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Comcast Corp. will raise cable TV rates for the third time in three years, outpacing inflation and frustrating customers.
The 7 percent increase will add more than $3 to the standard package most subscribers use, raising the average rate to about $48. It will take effect Jan. 1.
"It's ridiculous," said Jill Sheehy, who lives in Rohnert Park and works at Finesse Personnel in Santa Rosa. "When I started subscribing it was twenty-something."
Philadelphia-based Comcast, with 1.6 million Bay Area subscribers, is the only cable provider in Sonoma County, where it has about 135,000 customers. Its 60-channel basic package includes local channels and such cable staples as ESPN, A&E and Nickelodeon.
The company raised average rates from $39.99 to $42 in 2004 and then to $44.80 in 2005.
It is raising rates in 2006 to an average $47.93 to cover increased operating expenses, said Andrew Johnson, the company's vice president of communications.
He cited energy costs, improvements in customer service and network maintenance. Comcast spent nearly $200 million in the past year to maintain and enhance its fiber-optic network in the Bay Area, Johnson said.
Cable is still a bargain, Johnson said. "You get a full month of cable service for the same price as taking a family of four to see 'Harry Potter.'"
He declined to speculate on whether more price increases will take place next year.
"We are always making sure our prices are in line with the value we give our customers," Johnson said.
Consumer advocates were not so sure.
"I don't see any way they can justify 7 percent. It's double the rate of inflation," said Ken McEldowney, executive director with San Francisco-based Consumer Action.
He said he expected cable rates would continue to rise until Comcast has some competition - perhaps from AT&T, which plans to roll out a competitive system at the end of 2006 or 2007.
"One of the real problems is that no one is competing against them right now. Satellite is consistently less expensive, but it's a different technology. Someone living in an urban area or unable to have a satellite dish doesn't have a choice," McEldowney said.
Echostar Dish Network, a satellite TV provider, offers 120 channels for $37.99. DirecTV, another satellite provider, offers access to 225 channels for $74.99 a month.
Comcast's prices have risen three times faster than inflation since 2000.
Cable rates have climbed 40 percent in the past six years, from an average $34.40 in 2000 to the $47.93 just announced for 2006. During that same period, inflation increased 14.3 percent, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Consumers are turning to satellite as cable rates continue to rise, said Jim Schaeffler, chief executive officer and subscription TV analyst for The Carmel Group in Monterey.
"Comcast is getting dangerously close to consumer shock at $50," he said. "They're gambling that the percent of people pushed to satellite companies will be small enough that over time the revenues gained will make up for the loss."
There are about 65 million homes nationwide with cable TV, a number expected to decline to 61 million by 2008, Schaeffler said. Hughes Corp.'s DirecTV accounts for 15 million subscribers and EchoStar's Dish Network for 12 million.
Sheehy, despite her frustration, isn't ready to make the switch.
"I think when we get a plasma TV - that's our dream - we'll get satellite. But we'll stay with Comcast now because they have the FM radio channels," Sheehy said.
--
Playing Table Tennis
is not a matter of life or
Death, It's much more
important than that.
|
|
comcastnj15
Robin Meade Rules
join:2005-09-02
Brick, NJ
1 edit | Re: [Cable] That time again! Comcast to raise rate
Still cheaper than basic cable here which costs $53.75. When are they going to finally lower rates?
--
BBR Member since August 2003
Previously as tvfanatic/comcastfan1 |
|
inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA
| I would assume it's only a matter of time. The big problem for our area was the other cable companies raised rates then got bought out buy X company and then Y company bought out X and raised the price then Comcast came in and bought out Y and raised rates.
Cable TV customers At one time saw three increases in one year, and at that time the quality was horrible. So I would say around June/July they will raise it one more time that seems to be the standard.
Your right it's not bad if you compare, California Northern to say the least is a very expensive place to live so complaints are standard for us poor rich bastards. 
--
Playing Table Tennisis not a matter of life or Death, It's much more important than that. |
|
mbernste
Boosted
Premium,MVM
join:2001-06-30
Piscataway, NJ
 ·Comcast
·Optimum Online
1 edit | reply to inciter
Just for comparison, here's my bill from Cablevision. I have OOL and the "silver" tier of iO digital cable. In March, my promotion ends, so it will go up by $15.
--
Comcast BBQ
|
|
J D McDorce
Premium
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI
| reply to inciter
said by inciter  :He cited energy costs, improvements in customer service and network maintenance. One might think that improvements in customer service tend to pay for themselves through customer retention, additional services purchased due to customer satisfaction, and additional subscribers through word of mouth referrals. Is the message here If you want better customer service, it will cost you more? |
|
inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA
| said by J D McDorce :said by inciter :If you want better customer service, it will cost you more? I picked up on that too, I could see myself telling my Customers, Hey if you want a better job you will have to pay me more. I would see my yearly customer retention go bye bye real quick. I should stop talking before I get a troll tag on me, after all I am with DTV. I just found out you guy's moved from the other forum to your own. A year later ahahah.... Good day happy Thanksgiving all. --
Playing Table Tennisis not a matter of life or Death, It's much more important than that. |
|
imrf
Premium
join:2002-06-06
Utica, MI
·WOW Internet and C..
| reply to inciter
said by inciter :This is why I left for DTV. What, you don't think DTV is going to pass up on their third price increase in 3 years, do you?
Comcast has a much larger operational cost than either sat company mostly because of all the local employees. Which is something the sat companies don't have and never heard of.
But then again, a good chuck of everyone can switch to sat to avoid the increases, but they are just too lazy to do so. Point in case, the person interviewed in the article. |
|
jagged
join:2003-07-01
Boynton Beach, FL | reply to inciter
didn't Comcast post some amazing profits not too long ago? |
|
inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA
| reply to imrf
said by imrf :said by inciter :This is why I left for DTV. What, you don't think DTV is going to pass up on their third price increase in 3 years, do you? Comcast has a much larger operational cost than either sat company mostly because of all the local employees. Which is something the sat companies don't have and never heard of. But then again, a good chuck of everyone can switch to sat to avoid the increases, but they are just too lazy to do so. Point in case, the person interviewed in the article. When I made the jump from Comcast to DTV the channels were filled with snow, the cable CO is located in a flood plane and went out when we had heavy rains for two days. The customer service at that time brought Cities to threating kicking them out it was so bad.
I'll take the one dollar increase if? DTV does raise them this year. It beats the 3 bucks the cable customers are facing. And when it snows here in Sunny Sonoma County California the satellite does not go out. Oops thats right it does not snow here.
Again I'm not trolling I just found the article in todays paper and thought it was news worthy.
Cheers
--
Playing Table Tennisis not a matter of life or Death, It's much more important than that. |
|
inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA
| reply to jagged
said by jagged :didn't Comcast post some amazing profits not too long ago? Top US cable operator Comcast Corp has posted a 64 per cent rise in second-quarter net income, boosted by new digital video products such as digital video recorders.
Growth in digital video subscriptions was well above expectations, overshadowing slower growth in high-speed internet subscribers.
Cable operators like Comcast are betting on new digital video services to counter phone companies, which are aggressively adding video services. At the same time, satellite operators are selling cheaper television service and digital video recorders.
Comcast said net profit rose to $US430 million ($A563 million), or 19 US cents per share, from $US262 million, or 12 US cents per share, a year earlier.
Revenue rose 10.5 per cent to $US5.6 billion.
--
Playing Table Tennisis not a matter of life or Death, It's much more important than that. |
|
inciter
Noobie
Premium
join:2000-08-30
Rohnert Park, CA | reply to inciter
Re: [Cable] That time again! Comcast to raise rates 7% Jan. 1
»Comcast Raising pricing again..
Seems Illinois if getting some sunshine as well.
--
Playing Table Tennisis not a matter of life or Death, It's much more important than that. |
|
ninjaturtle1
join:2003-10-21
Fremont, CA | »Comcast to raise rates in Bay Area
N. Cali will be shining too. |
|
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20
| reply to jagged
Re: [Cable] That time again! Comcast to raise rate
said by jagged :didn't Comcast post some amazing profits not too long ago? And yet even with price increases, they still see growth in subscribers each year. Go figure.
As for those "amazing profits" - you think those 70 million per city expense in upgrades to ADS, or VOD, or DVRs come for free?
ADS - An expensive rollout, and doesn't bring in any more money. Sounds like a price hike is in order.
VOD - a great new service and many people like, use, and enjoy the service. It didn't come without expense. Sounds like a price his is in order. (And I don't care if you are the hand full of people that have experienced issues with VOD, call customer service and get it fixed. You are in a small minority)
DVR - a box that has gone through it's 3rd revision and 3rd purchase by comcast (4th revision in some areas). Those boxes cost the company about $500 to $600 a piece. They get $9.95 a month. You do the math. In all honesty? In this case, if the other guys weren't launching DVR, neither would the likes of Comcast. There is no profit in DVR right now. It's going to take about 5 years to see profits on those - that's based on the box cost alone. It doesn't take into consideration the amount of marketing, printed material, customer service calls/time from the bad batches of boxes, and truck roles for service calls when the customer can't figure out how to set a program? Or the $30.00 price to install the box when it cost about $80 to role the truck in the first place?
All most of you guys know is what you see on your bill. You don't see the loss to provide some services which is why others go up to compensate. No one likes to pay high bills when it comes to ANYTHING - so a little suggestion, if your bill is too high? cut back. You DON'T need a DVR. You DON'T need premium services, you DON'T need the 8mg tier of HSI, etc. Cut back. Prices for services in trend go up even with competition. Be a responsible customer and buy what you can afford. If you don't like the price of cable? choose another option. At minimum, you have two alternatives.
I don't know what's worse, the annual price increases from the cable companies (which I agree does suck a little but I know I am getting more because of them) or the fact that we have to read all these forum topics from people who are "shocked" or "surprised" that it's happening again - it's nothing different that saying "it's winter again and it's cold" or the "sky is blue". |
|
Zoder
join:2002-04-16
Miami, FL
| Fiberguy, I agree with everything you say except for one thing. You say that VOD warrants a price increase but whenever it's out for multiple days Comcast will not credit you because it's a "free" service. So it's not fair to customers to on one hand say we are raising your rates because of great new services like VOD but on the other hand won't credit you when that same service is experiencing an outage.
They took the entire system offline in SE Florida last Saturday while they finish repairs and said they expect to have it back up by the end of the year. |
|
ninjaturtle1
join:2003-10-21
Fremont, CA
1 edit | reply to fiberguy
Comcast had to get those PVR boxes out there to consumers. If they didn’t, Dish or DTV would of still had a clear field advantage with the PVR boxes. They were taking away Comcast’s customer with the lure of the Free-$50 boxes. Comcast rushed these boxes out and quality took a dive. The interface is the worst in the market. The original Replaytv even had a better interface.
Even if Comcast is taking a hit in the hardware cost, it’s a must. The Xbox 360 is an example of the same thing. The software and licensing is where they are going to be raking in the dough. Comcast is banking on the same. They will raise rates elsewhere and point to the pvr as a value. Walmart/Fry's has mastered the art. They will put out an item at a loss to lure customers in. |
|
JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
 ·LINGO
 ·Sprint Mobile Broa..
 ·surpasshosting
 ·Verizon FIOS
| reply to fiberguy
said by fiberguy :As for those "amazing profits" - you think those 70 million per city expense in upgrades to ADS, or VOD, or DVRs come for free? Maybe the upgrades should be subsidized by those who want the features. Rates for analog cable are rising at double the rate of inflation. Do analog only subscribers benefit from any of these upgrades, or are they just expected to pay for the upgrades so digital subscribers can benefit? |
|
celeritypc
For Lucky Best Wash, Use Mr. Sparkle
Premium
join:2004-05-15
Caldwell, NJ
| said by JTRockville :Maybe the upgrades should be subsidized by those who want the features. Rates for analog cable are rising at double the rate of inflation. Do analog only subscribers benefit from any of these upgrades, or are they just expected to pay for the upgrades so digital subscribers can benefit? I don't ask to support the high salaries of athletes and the expensive deals to carry sporting events yet I am forced to pay for them. Sports programming is the most expensive and has the highest annual increase in cost but people continue to accept it. |
|
J D McDorce
Premium
join:2001-12-29
Westland, MI
| reply to fiberguy
said by fiberguy :And yet even with price increases, they still see growth in subscribers each year. Go figure. That depends on which numbers you look at. There is little doubt that Comcast has made gains in what they call Revenue Generating Units (a customer that subscribes to basic cable, digital cable, HSI, and CDV accounts for 4 Revenue Generating Units) due to the addition of HSI and Digital Cable subs. Basic cable penetration continues its downhill slide and Comcast has not seen a quarterly net gain in basic cable subs since 4Q04. As of September 30, Comcast showed a net loss of 139,000 basic cable subscribers for calendar 2005 in spite of passing 600,000 additional homes.
My read on the numbers is that Comcast is able to make more money from less individual customers. |
|
JTRockville
Data Ho
Premium,MVM
join:2002-01-28
Rockville, MD
clubs:
·LINGO
·Sprint Mobile Broa..
·surpasshosting
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to celeritypc
said by celeritypc :Sports programming is the most expensive and has the highest annual increase in cost but people continue to accept it. That's true, but sports programming alone doesn't explain the astronomically high increases on the price of analog cable either. Satellite providers incur increasing costs for sports programming too, yet satellite prices don't increase at double the rate of inflation. |
|
fiberguy
My views are my own.
Premium
join:2005-05-20 | reply to Zoder
It IS a free service, however, there is still equipment and labor cost to build and maintain the service. Again, you don't look at the whole picture. Money had to be spend to deliver the service. |
|
