Comcast raising video cable service fees
Spokesman says no increases are expected for high-speed Internet, telephone services
Starting Oct. 1, Spokane-area Comcast video subscribers will face an average rate increase of roughly 3.7 percent, the cable provider announced.
Although that’s an average hike, customers who take Comcast’s basic cable package will pay a rate of $55.75, up from $49.25 – a roughly 13 percent increase – said company spokesman Walt Neary.
At the low end of Comcast’s video service, limited basic service will rise to $17.99 from $16.49.
Neary said no increases are anticipated for users of the company’s high-speed Internet and cable phone services.
Comcast cited increasing costs for its programming, especially cable sports shows.
Neary said another factor in rising costs is the fast-increasing cost of gasoline. Comcast – the largest cable company in the country – has “the fifth-largest vehicle fleet in the nation,” Neary said.
Individual customers’ increases will vary with the type of video package they have, Neary noted. Comcast is sending out notices on the rate increases in the current month’s bills.
Cable companies and digital satellite systems are locked in a heated competition for customers nationwide. A recent Nielsen Co. survey of area TV viewers found that about 42.4 percent of all TV households in the overall Spokane TV market use cable. In that same viewing area, which includes sections of Oregon, Idaho and Montana, satellite is used by 41.8 percent of all TV households.
About one year ago, Comcast announced video cable rate increases for Spokane customers that averaged about 4.7 percent.
Comcast has approximately 100,000 video subscribers in Spokane and Spokane County. The actual number is not disclosed, Neary said.