FCC: Expanded Basic Cable TV Rates Climbed 5.4% in 2010

Monthly prices higher in 'competitive' markets, according to commission survey

By Todd Spangler, Multichannel News -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/14/2012 12:44:00 PM

The average monthly price of expanded basic cable TV rose 5.4% in 2010, to $57.46, according to the FCC's annual report on cable industry rates -- while for the third consecutive year, the commission found that cable rates in "competitive" markets were higher.

The Federal Communications Commission, in the report released Monday, noted that the overall increase in cable rates was higher than the 1.6% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for 2010. From 1995 to 2011, the price of expanded basic service increased at a compound average annual growth rate of 6.1% whereas the CPI increased at a CAGR of 2.4%.

On a per-channel basis, however, the cost of cable TV has risen slower than the pace of inflation, according to the FCC. In fact, the price per channel for subscribers purchasing expanded basic service decreased by 2.1% for the 12 months ended Jan. 1, 2011, to 57 cents per channel. Over the past 16 years, the increase in price per channel was 0.9% annually.

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