Snohomish County’s largest cable television provider will raise its rates by about 5 percent for most customers on Jan. 1.
The average price for Comcast’s standard analog cable package increases from $37.99 to $39.99 a month, according to figures provided by the company. That doesn’t include fees and taxes.
That new average is nearly 18 percent higher than the average rate — less than $34 a month — quoted in December 2002.
A rate hike of $2.59 a month took effect at the start of 2003. And in many areas of the county where the cable system has been upgraded this year, cable subscribers began paying an additional $1 to $2 a month.
"Comcast’s Washington market prices reflect the increased value of the service, including availability of more programming choices, improvements in customer service and investments in technical upgrades that improve the reliability and quality of the company’s cable television service," Comcast spokesman Steve Kipp said in a prepared statement.
Kipp pointed out that in Everett, south Snohomish County and other areas where the cable company has upgraded its system, customers are now receiving many more channels. Statewide, the company has invested nearly $200 million this year to expand, improve and maintain its cable infrastructure.
Comcast announced similar cable TV increases for its other territories across the country this week as well. In New England, for example, Comcast’s standard rate is going up 6.5 percent on Jan. 1 to $44.07 a month.
A General Accounting Office report commissioned by Sen. John McCain recently showed the national average for standard or "expanded basic" cable packages is up 40 percent since 1997. During the same period, the Consumer Price Index rose 12 percent.
The report also showed that the standard service now averages 63 channels, compared with 48 in 1997. That fact is central to the cable industry’s argument that customers are receiving more for their money. They also blame rising costs charged by the companies that own the cable networks.
Nonetheless, the rate increases are hard for some customers to accept. Betty Nelson of Everett said she has been unhappy with the prices and service since Comcast took over AT&T Broadband in 2002.
"We pay a lot more, and I think we get less," the retiree said. "You buy the packages to get the channels you want, but you also get all the junk."
She and her husband have added services so their grandchildren can watch movies and cartoons when they visit. Even so, Nelson said they’ve been thinking about cutting down on the number of channels they order because of the rising prices.
There is an alternative way to get all those channels. Rick Spesock at Northwest Satellite in Everett said a good percentage of people who come into order satellite TV service complain about cable prices.
"I’d say 65 percent are mad at the cable company," he said.
While getting satellite TV generally has higher upfront costs, the monthly programming costs are competitive in many areas. Spesock said programming packages from Dish Network start at $29.99 for about 50 channels, while DirecTV, which offers more than 100 channels in its package, starts at $39.
But Bill Langenbach, owner of The Inn Sports Bar &Grill in Lynnwood, said the price of the satellite TV sports programming he receives isn’t standing still.
"Everything’s been going up," he said. "I actually wish we had cable."
The building he’s in along Highway 99 doesn’t have a cable connection, and the cost of having it installed underground and into his business is too expensive, he said.
There is one cable package that isn’t getting more expensive as of Jan. 1. Comcast’s "limited service," which includes local network channels and a few others, will remain around $13 in the county, Kipp said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.
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