NEW YORK (AP/CLARKSVILLENOW) — Cable and satellite TV providers are ringing in the new year with an unwelcomed gift: higher cable bills.
Comcast, for instance, says customer bills will rise 2.2 percent, on average, in 2018. AT&T is raising DirecTV’s prices by up to $8 a month in mid-January. Smaller providers are planning increases, too.
Over the past decade, prices for TV service have risen almost twice as fast as inflation.
Cable companies point to rising fees they pay to carry TV networks. The networks, in turn, have their own rising costs — particularly sports, as they willingly pay more to sports leagues for what they consider must-have programming.
Although annual rate hikes are inevitable, many consumers manage to lower their bills by pushing back and getting promotional rates.
ClarksvilleNow.com reached out to CDE Lightband, which provides cable service in the Clarksville area.
“Most operators have to consider an increase in rates as the rates the programming networks charge them typically increase each year,” spokesperson Christy Batts said. “CDE Lightband has not currently reviewed all of the rate changes that will affect us fully enough to determine if a rate change for our customers will be needed to cover the increased programming costs. We will notify our customers directly in advance of any changes to our rates.”
Charter Spectrum cable services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.