Cox 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 »
Here's a list of TV/mobile companies helping consumers one tweet at a time. 
