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More Time Warner price increases coming? Not in O.C.

March 12th, 2010, 9:25 am by

In case you spotted today’s L.A. Times story headlined, “What?! Another Time Warner Cable rate hike?” don’t freak out. At least if you live in Orange County.

The story mentions a 4 percent rate hike that goes into effect April 1. This “follows an identical increase in January for the rest of Time Warner Cable’s nearly 2 million SoCal customers, as well as prior increases last year.” That statement plus the headline made me think that a second price hike was coming for 2010. Did I miss something?

I checked with Time Warner to verify what was going on. Company spokesman Darryl Ryan immediately called me back to say, no, this isn’t a second increase this year. This adds in the rest of Time Warner’s Los Angeles customers who didn’t get hit with the 4 percent increase in January.

2010 TV price increases

“Any price adjustments affecting your readers has already been adjusted,” Ryan said.

Whew!

Now, of course, this doesn’t explain why Time Warner had to hike our bills in the first place. But keep in mind, the cable company wasn’t the only one to raise prices this year. Cox Communications, Verizon FiOS, DirecTV and AT&T U-verse all raised their prices in recent months too. See links to those reports on the right. The same companies all raised rates last year too.

Time Warner, like all TV providers, face increasing fees from the TV channels. Most of the time, the TV providers pay the new price. Occasionally, negotiations go public when the two sides can’t agree on a new price. Most recently, Walt Disney threatened to pull ABC from Cablevision viewers on the East Coast, which meant no Oscars. In the end, the two sides made amends but cable customers missed the awards show introduction.  The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is investigating such disputes to prevent the loss of TV service to consumers in the future.

Recent Time Warner news:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • | 6 Comments »

Cox raising cable TV, HD and Internet prices in Orange County

January 29th, 2010, 1:42 pm by

Cox 2010 rate hikeCox Communications is raising the price of its major cable TV plans in Orange County between 3.6 to 10 percent, beginning March 1. And if you’re a premium movie subscriber or HD fan, expect your monthly bill to go up even higher. (Thanks to all the readers who wrote in about this.)

It’s not unexpected news as we’ve heard about TV price hikes from all the major providers in Orange County. Cox, which has its local headquarters in Rancho Santa Margarita, tends to increase prices in the spring.

“The main reason that our prices are changing is because of the rising costs of doing business. Cox is similar to a grocery store; we are a retail distributor of a wholesale product. Each year programmers like ESPN, CNN and MTV raise their costs, which then raises our costs to do business. We try to keep cable prices as low as possible, and while we absorb much of the increases incurred, we can’t absorb the full amount of fees we pay for the programmers. So, we have to pass on at least a portion of those increases to our customers,” said Lana Ong, a Cox spokeswoman.

Service 2009 2010 Change
Cox TV starter (broadcast) $20.00 $22.00 +10.0%
Cox TV essential (Broadcast, popular cable) $50.99 $52.99 +3.9%
Cox Advanced TV (Digital) $55.99 $57.99 +3.6%
DVR service $11.95 $9.99 -16.4%
HD tier $4.95 $5.50 +11.1%
Digital receiver $5.50 $5.50 0.0%
HD receiver $5.50 $7.50 +36.4%
HD DVR $5.50 $7.50 +36.4%
CableCard $1.99 $1.99 0.0%
1 premium movie $12.99 $14.00 +7.8%
2 premium movies $18.50 $21.00 +13.5%
3 premium movies $27.00 $30.00 +11.1%
4 premium movies $35.00 $38.00 +8.6%
ATV with 1 TV pak $62.49 $65.49 +4.8%
ATV with 3 TV paks $65.94 $68.94 +4.5%
ATV with 4 TV paks $68.94 $71.94 +4.4%
Internet (starter) $19.95 $22.99 +15.2%
Internet (value) 3 Mbps $28.99 $31.99 +10.3%
Internet (preferred) 10 Mbps $44.99 $46.99 +4.4%
Internet (premier) 20 Mbps $59.99 $61.99 +3.3%

The chart on the right details what services are going up. The complete document being mailed to Cox subscribers is available HERE. But what is going up?

■ HD TV service: Both the HD receiver and the HD DVR will now cost $2 more than non-HD versions. That’s a 36.4% increase. Also going up: the HD channel tier (with HDnet, HDnet Movies and HD Theater)  jumps 55-cents per month to $5.50.

■ Premium channels: If you thought spending $12.99/month on HBO was a lot, that price is jumping 7.8 percent to $14. Buy all four movie premiums — including Cinemax, Showtime and Starz — and the price goes up 8.6 percent to $38/month.

■ Basic broadcast cable: People on Cox’s cheapest TV plan, which includes only the local and broadcast channels, get a $2 price increase to $22, or 10 percent.

■ High speed Internet: There’s no escaping a fee increase if you’re a Cox Internet user. Prices for the starter service are going up $3/month to $22.99, or 15.2 percent. The fastest users get a 3.3 percent hike to $61.99/month. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • | 58 Comments »

Verizon FiOS Internet upload speed hits 35 Mbps!

January 18th, 2010, 4:39 pm by

Verizon's FiOS TVVerizon just announced today faster Internet speeds for FiOS customers of up to 35 megabits per second upload. That’s faster than any Orange County Internet provider’s download speed.

Faster upload speeds means spending less time uploading photos to Facebook, sending giant spreadsheets and other files to coworkers online or regularly backing up computer files to the great big cloud. According to Verizon, the faster 35 mbps speed means uploading a 20-minute HD video in three to five minutes instead of the half hour it takes with a cable Internet connection.

In Orange County, cable companies upload speeds are a measly 1 to 2 mbps.

But most of Orange County can’t order FiOS. The fiber-optic service is a huge investment for Verizon, which needs city permission to lay cables in the neighborhood. The service has only reached residents in parts of Brea, Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Habra, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach Stanton, Westminster and certain unincorporated areas.

Those of us who can’t order Verizon FiOS can, at least, take heart that we won’t be subject to the service’s new early termination fees.

Separately, Verizon confirmed that customers who drop out before their two-year contract ends could be forced to cough up an extra $360. Previously, the fee was $179.  The higher early-termination fee does drop by $15 every month the customer keeps the service, which means by month 23, exiting customers will be charged $15.

The new Internet upload speeds of 25 Mbps up and down, and 35 mbps up and down, upgrade existing plans. Here’s the low down of FiOS TV/Internet bundles:

FiOS plans Price
Ultimate: TV service with 90+ HD channels, Internet speed of 35 mbps up/down, phone $139.99
Extreme: TV service with 65 HD channels, Internet speeds of 25 mbps up/down, phone $124.99
Prime: TV service with 40 HD channels, Internet speed of 15 mbps down, 5 up, phone $109.99

More details on the new bundles HERE at Verizon’s site.

Notable special: Verizon is offering a major FiOS discount to new customers — $20 discount each month for first 12 months for Prime plan, $10 discount for either the Extreme or Ultimate plan.

More on Verizon FiOS:

Posted in: Internet • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 20 Comments »

DirecTV prices going up in 2010 too

January 4th, 2010, 8:43 am by

DirecTV Cable TV customers aren’t the only ones who will pay higher prices in 2010. DirecTV subscribers will also pay a few dollars more per month.

Rates are going up by about 5 percent per month — see the chart below for changes. Customers who are part of a promotional 12-month price won’t be affected until the promotion ends.

DirecTV joins Time Warner Cable, AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS with new price increases for 2010. Cox Communications has said it has no plans for increases yet, but the company tends to announce price hikes in the spring.

Many of TV services increase prices at the beginning of the year. The big reason: They have to pay higher prices for the TV networks they offer. Most recently on New Year’s Eve, Time Warner negotiated with Fox TV parent News Corp. on the fee the cable provider would pay to offer Fox to subscribers. Fox threatened to pull its programs from customers but the two ended up resolving their differences several hours past the deadline. New rates weren’t disclosed although Fox was asking for $1 per month per customer, which Time Warner said was too much.

According to a letter mailed to DirecTV customers, the new rates take effect Feb. 9, 2010. Some changes:
DirecTV service 2009 price 2010 price Increase
Premier $109.99 $114.99 4.5%
Lo Maximo $109.99 $114.99 4.5%
Choice Xtra $60.99 $63.99 4.9%
Choice $55.99 $58.99 5.4%
Preferred Choice $35.99 $38.99 8.3%
Jadeworld $36.99 $39.99 8.1%
Optimo Mas $44.99 $47.99 6.7%
Total Choice Mobile n/a $63.99 n/a
Plus HD DVR $75.99 $79.99 5.3%
Plus DVR $65.99 $69.99 6.1%
Select $48.99 $51.99 6.1%
Basico $32.99 $35.99 9.1%

For those who are curious, the 2010 prices are between 9.5 percent to 60 percent higher than 2008′s prices: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 24 Comments »

Verizon: Leaked price hikes won’t impact current FiOS customers

December 22nd, 2009, 12:29 pm by

Verizon FiOS signUPDATE, 2:33 p.m.: Verizon has verified that the only announced price hike for existing FiOS TV customers is that premium channels like HBO, HBO/Cinemax and the Movie Package will each increase by $1 as of Jan. 17.
_____________________________

As the year winds down and TV customers learn how much more TV service will cost next year, existing Verizon FiOS customers may have lucked out.

Verizon responded to a report that FiOS TV bills will go up $10 to $20 a month with this:

“We have no comment – we have made no such announcement. That being said, please keep in mind that anything we might possibly do going forward would not impact our current customers,” said Heather Wilner, a Verizon spokeswoman, in an e-mail response to my question.

BroadbandReports.com noticed new pricing plans after they were accidentally posted on a public Verizon Web site. The page showed price hikes between $10 to $20 depending on the bundle, starting on Jan. 17, 2010. It also noted that the basic “TV Essentials” package was being replaced. The site hones in on a new feature: a $360 early termination fee. Read BroadbandReports story, “Leaked 2010 Verizon FiOS Rate Hike Info.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • | 8 Comments »

AT&T U-verse raising TV, phone, Internet prices in 2010

December 21st, 2009, 12:26 pm by

UPDATE, at 4:29 p.m.: AT&T says Internet price increases affect new customers only and not existing customers. TV prices affect everyone.

———————

AT&T U-verseNo AT&T U-verse service goes untouched by the latest round of price hikes for 2010. Most customers will see a $3 to $5 increase in their monthly bill when the new prices go into effect Feb. 1, 2010, confirmed an AT&T spokeswoman.

U-verse, which offers phone, TV and fast Internet service, is available in several Orange County cities. Here is a list: U-verse in O.C.

AT&T says the increased costs reflect more TV channels and better options, including more TV apps and the recent addition of 5 new HD channels. This is the company’s first price hike to its core TV service since launching in 2006.

AT&T isn’t the first to notify customers of 2010 price increases. Earlier this month, Time Warner Cable customers began receiving notices that bills were going up in January. See the earlier story: “Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least.”

AT&T provided examples for some of the price increases: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • | 17 Comments »

Cox Cable: No price hikes planned for 2010 yet

December 16th, 2009, 2:54 pm by

Cox Cable logoCox Communications customers in Orange County can hang on to their money for just a bit longer. The Rancho Santa Margarita cable TV provider said that no cable price increases are planned for 2010. At least not yet.

“As far as rates, at this point Cox has nothing set in stone regarding rate increases in 2010,” said spokeswoman Lana Ong in response to my query about 2010 price increases.

December and January tend to be prime time to notify customers of upcoming rate hikes. During these months a year ago, Time Warner, AT&T U-verse and Cox all told customers monthly bills were going up.

So far, for 2010, Time Warner has notified customers that some will see their monthly bills increase a few dollars in January. See the earlier story: “Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least.”

More on 2010 price increases:

Of course, this doesn’t mean Cox won’t raise its rates in 2010. This year, the company upped rates in March. Last year, rates also went up in March. The official word today, however, is no increases are planned.

Cable providers are losing subscribers and not making as much money as they used to. A big reason for annual price increases is because the TV networks they offer are asking for more money themselves.

The nation’s largest cable company, Comcast Corp., took steps this month to offset some of those rising costs by buying a TV network. The deal, valued at $30 billion, will make Comcast the owner of NBC, which includes the channels such as USA, Bravo, SyFy, CNBC, MSNBC and Universal.

Currently, Time Warner is negotiating with News Corp. (Fox TV) and Scripps Networks Interactive (Food Network, HGTV). In an effort to publicize what it considers unfair price hikes for the channels, Time Warner launched a marketing campaign asking customers whether it should cave to the increases or get tough, even if it means losing the channel. While the campaign is obviously a marketing tactic, it attracted 400,000 consumers who told Time Warner to get tough.

Cox, meanwhile, just let go of the Travel Channel, selling most of it to Scripps Networks. Cox kept a 35 percent ownership.

For their part, both Orange County cable providers have added several new channels this year. Most recently, Cox customers should have seen 15 new HD channels show up this week. See the earlier story, “Cox adding 15 HD channels in December.”

Related stories:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 13 Comments »

Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least

December 14th, 2009, 3:49 pm by

Your TV BillAs mentioned last week, Time Warner Cable customers in Orange County and Southern California are getting letters that cable TV prices are going up in 2010.

However, the company did not share specific prices because it said the increases vary by customer. Some won’t even see any increase until after their one-to-two-year contract expires.

I, a Time Warner customer, have not received the letter. But I’ve received specifics from readers about the increase. I noted some in last week’s post, “Time Warner Cable is raising rates in January 2010.”

Reader Bill C., a Time Warner customer in Garden Grove, sent in a copy of the notice he just received. Looks pretty straightforward. Click chart below right for larger view.

The quick analysis: Customers who order less will see a larger price increase.

Time Warner Cable 2010 rate hikes

  • The most basic users — broadcast cable subscribers who pay to get clear, over-the-air channels that are free — will see their  monthly bill jump $2, or 11 percent, to $20 a month.
  • Customers in a bundled-service plan (phone, TV, Internet) will see their overall package increase by $2.04 or $3.04 per month.
  • Whether you order Internet Basic (1.5 Mbps) or Internet Turbo (15 Mbps), the price for Internet plans will go up $2.04.
  • Renting a set-top box is rising to $7.85 per month — or up $1.54, which is about 25 percent.
  • The “digital programming fee” is dropping 50 percent to $1, from $2.   What exactly is this fee? An added charge for customers who rent more than one digital set-top box, says Time Warner. Added 4:19 p.m.: Fee also applies to CableCARD users.

Comparably, the increases are not as high as 2009, when most bundles went up $5 a month. The all-the-best bundle will go from last year’s $114.95 to next year’s $122.99 per month. Meanwhile, the aforementioned ‘Broadcast Cable” is going from $14 last year to next year’s $20. Check out last year’s story on the increases: “Time Warner Cable raising prices in 2009”

Based on covering Time Warner for the past year, here are a few reasons why prices are increasing: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • | 26 Comments »

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