Monmouth County, N.J., Ocean County Cable Customers to Pay More for Service
Posted on: Friday, 21 November 2003, 06:00 CST
Nov. 21--Cable customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties will pay more for cable TV service next year.
Cablevision Systems Corp. yesterday said it is raising customers' cable bills an average 3.2 percent starting in 2004. The typical subscriber pays about $54 a month, an amount that will rise to about $55.73 a month, starting in January or February, the cable company said.
Comcast Cable is raising rates in its four cable systems in the two counties as of Jan. 1, the company said yesterday. Percentage increases range from 1.9 percent to 7.3 percent, depending on the system.
For instance, typical Comcast of Monmouth County customers who subscribe to its preferred package of channels will pay $51.50 a month next year, an increase of 95 cents.
Comcast of Ocean County customers will see their cost rise to $51.50, up $1.25. Customers in the Toms River and Long Beach Island systems will see the price for preferred service jump $3.07 to $44.87.
Comcast has 255,000 customers in the region. Cablevision has about 160,000 customers in Monmouth and Ocean counties.
Howell resident Tracy Halter, 36, said she "doesn't love" news of an increase.
"I know cable is expensive. It is ridiculous," said Halter, a Cablevision customer. "I kind of feel like, 'All right, what is there to do? Not have cable?' I don't know if we could do that."
James Pulley, 45, of Ocean Grove is not happy about the increases. He pays about $125 a month for Cablevision's top cable package and Optimum Online, the cable company's high-speed Internet access.
"When you have a monopoly, I am left with no recourse but to pay the additional rates," Pulley said.
Cablevision said prices for the company's Optimum Online high-speed Internet service and new Optimum Voice telephone service will remain the same next year.
Like Comcast, Cablevision's price increases will vary depending on the level of service.
For instance, a Cablevision customer will pay $44.31 for the company's Family Cable package, which includes channels such as CNN and Cartoon Network, an increase of $1.51.
Subscribers to Cablevision's top digital premium cable packages, iO Gold and iO Silver, will pay $2 more, raising the prices to $66.95 and $86.95 respectively, the company said.
In a statement, Cablevision attributed the increases to higher programming costs and increased investment in customer service and network improvements to enhance system reliability. This summer, Cablevision opened a new call center in Newark, which employs almost 400 people.
Programming costs paid by Cablevision to program suppliers have increased about 13 percent this year, the company said.
Comcast spokesman Jeff Alexander said Comcast attributes the rate hike to several factors, including new products and the increased cost of providing service and operating the business.
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(c) 2003, Asbury Park Press, N.J. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.
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