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A.N.C.C. ANALYSIS OF CABLEVISION 2006 CABLE TELEVISION RATE INCREASES
December 1, 2005
Revised: April 1, 2006
Cablevision has recently announced cable television rate increases which will be reflected in customer bills in January or February 2006. In announcing the rate changes on November 18, 2005, Cablevision reported "The average cable television price adjustment will result in an average increase of 2.3 percent, or $1.45 per month." Because Cablevision calculated this figure using the total number of subscribers in their entire market area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, it may not accurately reflect the increases that it's Norwalk-based system customers will absorb. The company's policy of reporting system wide percentages rather than area specific percentages began with the announced rate adjustment for 2004. Cablevision has explained that this reporting is consistent with its goal of standardizing services and rates for its entire service area.
In order to more accurately identify the impact of the rate increase on Cablevision's Norwalk-based system subscribers, A.N.C.C. requested from Cablevision the "weighted average" increase for those subscribers, which was subsequently reported to be 3.4% or $2.21 per month. A.N.C.C. also has compiled the data from the new rate cards into the following table which compares the rate changes on specific services for the local subscribers:
| Service |
2005 |
2006 |
Increase |
Percent |
| Packages |
|
|
|
|
| Basic |
$15.36 |
$15.78 |
$0.42 |
2.7% |
| Family |
$44.95 |
$46.95 |
$2.00 |
4.4% |
| iO Silver |
$66.95 |
$67.95 |
$1.00 |
1.5% |
| iO Gold |
$86.95 |
$87.95 |
$1.00 |
1.2% |
| iO Package |
$9.95 |
$9.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| iO Navigation |
$4.95 |
$4.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| Optimum (grandfathered) |
$49.30 |
$53.00 |
$3.70 |
7.5% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Add-ons |
|
|
|
|
| A la cartes (IFC) |
$4.95 |
$4.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| iO |
$9.95 |
$9.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| Digital HBO |
$11.95 |
$11.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| All Other Digital Premiums |
$9.95 |
$9.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| iO Sports Pack |
$4.95 |
$4.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| Premiums On Demand |
$4.95 |
$4.95 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Equipment |
|
|
|
|
| Converter Box |
$4.95 |
$5.50 |
$0.55 |
11.1% |
| Remote |
$0.29 |
$0.24 |
-$0.05 |
-17.2% |
| Box + remote |
$5.24 |
$5.74 |
$0.50 |
9.5% |
| Premium Additional Outlet |
$1.50 |
$1.50 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| TV Guide |
$3.99 |
$3.99 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| Digital Cable Card |
$1.25 |
$1.25 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Installation |
|
|
|
|
| New Installation 1 outlet |
$40.00 |
$49.95 |
$9.95 |
24.9% |
| Restart prewired home |
$40.00 |
$49.95 |
$9.95 |
24.9% |
| Hourly |
$43.00 |
$49.95 |
$6.95 |
16.2% |
| Add'l outlet during install |
$19.75 |
$21.95 |
$2.20 |
11.1% |
| Add'l outlet separate trip |
$49.95 |
$48.75 |
-$1.20 |
-2.4% |
| Home visit equip change |
$39.25 |
$49.95 |
$10.70 |
27.3% |
| Service call |
$39.75 |
$49.95 |
$10.20 |
25.7% |
| Relocate outlet |
$54.75 |
$48.75 |
-$6.00 |
-11.0% |
| Service change from office |
$1.99 |
$1.99 |
$0.00 |
0.0% |
| |
|
|
|
|
| Examples 2005 vs 2006 |
2005 |
2006 |
Increase |
Percent |
| Broadcast Basic |
$15.36 |
$15.78 |
$0.42 |
2.7% |
| Family + 1 A la carte |
$49.90 |
$51.90 |
$2.00 |
4.0% |
| iO (1 box + HBO) |
$62.14 |
$64.64 |
$2.50 |
4.0% |
| iO Silver (2 boxes) |
$78.93 |
$80.93 |
$2.00 |
2.5% |
| iO Gold (3 boxes) |
$105.67 |
$108.17 |
$2.50 |
2.4% |
The chart below plots the Basic & Family service rates over the last 6 years
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