Did you know that some people in Orange County can order TV service from Time Warner Cable for $8.50 a month?

This $8.50 monthly fee is for a very select group of local residents: People who live in Leisure World and most of Seal Beach. And it’s people who only need access to ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and other over-the-air channels, which are free if you have a good TV antenna. I’ve listed the channels available with this broadcast TV plan in the chart below on the right.

This plan was reiterated to me during a recent interview with Time Warner’s local executives, Deborah “Debi” Picciolo, president of residential services for the West Region. The topic? Why are cable TV prices so high? More on this later, but Time Warner pointed out that the cheapest plans available for most people is around $20. (Read past stories where the two have answered questions for me here: Time Warner answers some questions.)

So, I looked it up and documented how much Orange County pays for basic broadcast service (see city-by-city price chart below)– a plan presumably intended for folks who get poor TV reception and don’t want to pay the minimum $53+ monthly fee (before taxes) for real cable service. The $8.50 plan is the cheapest in Orange County. Most of the county can get the same TV package for $20. Read the rest of this entry »