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According to Consumer Reports, Comcast, AT&T, and Spectrum all have plans to hike prices for cable TV subscribers for 2020.
The price hikes come as additional streaming options from networks have become more prevalent.
Last month, Comcast raised prices for its Basic TV package from $30 to $35 monthly, with an increase for their Broadcast TV package rising 50 percent from $10 to $14.95 each month.
“Rising programming costs — most notably for broadcast TV and sports — continue to be the biggest factors driving price increases for all content distributors and their customers,” Comcast said in a statement. “While we absorb some of the increased programming costs, they have a significant impact on the cost of our services.”
Beginning on Sunday, Jan. 19, AT&T’s DirecTV customers will also see a rise by between two and eight dollars, depending on their plan. AT&T U-verse customers will see a rise of between $3 and $7, with the broadcast-TV fee rising approximately two dollars per month.
As for Spectrum customers, last fall, Charter raised the price on three tiers of Spectrum TV service. Spectrum Select, TV Silver and TV Gold each increased by $7.50 monthly, according to the CR report. The broadcast fee and fee for renting mini cable boxes also grew.
According to WestMonroePartners.com, New York (26th) and Connecticut (41st), are among the least likely to cancel their cable subscriptions as of December last year.
The report states that “as industry analysts forecast another merciless year of cord-cutting—the act of canceling cable TV in favor of streaming services and web content— our recent survey of 5000 Americans indicates that cord-cutting is well underway. Survey results indicate that 59 percent have cut the cord and another 29 percent are thinking about it.”
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