Mediacom's cable television rates will be increasing next month

By BROOKS TAYLOR

Mt. Pleasant News

Perhaps it isn?t an annual event, but it is fairly close to it.

Mediacom, Mt. Pleasant?s chief cable television provider, has announced that on Dec. 15, it will be making rate adjustments, or in layman?s terms, raising its rates.

Most packages will increase by $2 per month and the old and new rates for the various packages follow (all rates are monthly prices):

? Broadcast Basic, $27.95 to $29.95;

? Family Cable, $65.95 to $68.95;

? Family Cable with Digital 1 Star, $79.40 to $79.95;

? Cinemax, $10.95 to $12.95;

? Showtime, $10.95 to $12.95;

? Digital Plus, $12.00 to $14.00.

Lee Grassley, senior manager for Mediacom?s government relations, told the city in a letter that the rate adjustments reflect an increase in Mediacom expenses.

?The decision to make price adjustments is always a difficult one. While we strive to keep our expenses in check, there are some costs that we are simply unable to control,? Grassley said. ?Our programming expenses, particularly with respect to broadcast television channels and live sports content, are escalating at a pace well in excess of inflation.?

Grassley said that the fees Mediacom pays to broadcast local network stations (ABC, CBS, NBC, etc.) are by far the fast growing programming cost component. ?Over the past few years, many broadcasters have used their monopoly powers to demand 100 percent, 200 percent and even 300 percent rate increases during contract negotiations,?

He said decisions to raise rates are made reluctantly. ?Contrary to public perception, cable companies are reluctant to raise video prices because when we do, we lose subscribers. Mediacom does not make more money when we raise video rates, since we remit virtually every penny of the increase on to the programmers. In fact, over the last three years, our programming cost increases were more than double our video revenue increases.?