NORTHWEST ARKANSAS — Area cable subscribers have to dig a little deeper to pay their monthly bills.
Cox Communications and AT&T notified customers via monthly statements about rate hikes.
AT&T’s rates went up Feb. 1; Cox will adjust rates in March.
Joe Molinaro, executive director of the Arkansas Cable Telecommunications Association, said increased programming costs are often cited as the primary reason for rate hikes.
“As with everything, the costs seem to get passed on so services can continue to be provided,” he said.
Cable company spokeswomen agreed programming is a leading case for increased rates.
At A Glance
Did You Know?
• Roughly 90 percent of American’s subscribed to some form of pay television last year.
• U.S. households absorbed a 72 percent increase in the cost of cable and satellite service in the past eight years.
• In 2002, the average household spent $41 per month for cable or satellite television service.
• In 2010, average cable and satellite service cost American households $71 per month.
Source: Centris Research and Federal Communications Commission
The rate for Cox’s expanded cable package is going up almost 17 percent, from $29.99 to $34.99 a month.
That package includes 45 channels beyond the Cox TV Starter lineup of about 20 channels. The Starter package will remain at $20. Subscribers paying $49.99 for another tier will pay $54.99.
“As prices of other things are going up, we hate to pile on to that,” said Kelly Zega of Cox. “The reality of the situation is the cost of providing our services continues to increase.”
Lauren Walters with AT&T said depending on a customer’s plan and when they signed up for U-verse programming, the increase was $2 to $5 a month.
She said plans range from $54 a month for up to 150 channels to $117 for 400 channels.
Internet services provided by both companies are also going up.
Cox increased Internet plans $3 to $4 a month depending on the speed.
AT&T’s Internet plans went up $5 a month.
“The maximum increase a customer would see for both U-verse TV and Internet is $11,” Walters said.
Both cable providers also point to system upgrades as a need for more money.
“We try to absorb these costs as long as we can, but eventually we have to pass them along,” Zega said.
Cox last increased rates in February 2010. That was also when AT&T last hiked prices.
Customers are purchasing more sophisticated equipment — such as high definition and 3D televisions and more powerful computers — that require faster networks, she said.
Cox customer Ron Unrath said the rate hike is forcing him to look for ways to trim his bill.
“At some point you reach the place where the straw breaks the camel’s back,” the Farmington resident said. He said he will look at the additional channels he gets.
Cox Advanced TV Variety and Movie Paks are going up to $5 a month, a 50-cent increase.
Unrath said he already cut his bill by getting movies through Netflix rather than paying for movie channels.
Customers usually only have to worry about rate hikes once a year, said Stephen Effros, president of Effros Communications, a strategic communication and consulting firm. Effros also served as head of the Cable Telecommunications Association for 23 years.
“The general reason for cost increases is programming. Unfortunately what happens is they keep going up,” he said.