In brief: Comcast is on track to milk even more money out of cable TV subscribers. Starting next month, nationwide price adjustments will go into effect that will see the average cost of service across markets increase by 3.8 percent. Naturally, some markets will be hit harder than others.
In Taunton, Massachusetts, Comcast’s broadcast TV fee will increase from $18.65 per month to $26 per month starting December 20, 2022. That is an increase of $7.35 per month, or more than $88 a year. Video package pricing is also going up in Taunton, from $2 to $5 more a month, and the cost to rent a set-top box will increase by $1.50 to $10 per month.
Several cities in Michigan, including Royal Oak Township and Farmington, will see their broadcast TV fee shoot up by nearly six bucks, from $14.80 a month to $20.70. The regional sports fee, meanwhile, will increase from $9.50 to $10.15.
It is a similar story in Sandown, New Hampshire, where the broadcast TV fee is set to reach $27.25 a month from the current rate of $24.95. Video and Internet packages will also be trending up in this region.
Comcast defended the price hikes. In a statement to The TV Answer Man, a spokesperson said TV networks and other video programmers continue to raise their prices, and that broadcast television and sports are the biggest drivers of increases in customers’ bills. The Comcast rep added that the 3.8 percent increase is about half of the most recent rate of inflation.
Patrick Shearns, Comcast’s senior manager of government and regulatory affairs, told the city of Taunton that they absorb some cost increases but added that fee increases affect service pricing.
With the end of the year just around the corner and in the face of rising costs virtually everywhere, it may not be a bad time to reevaluate your active subscriptions. Odds are, you could probably offset some rising costs by dropping a rarely used subscription service or two.
Image credit: Advantus Media, Nothing Ahead, Fran Jacquier
