Cablevision keeps prices in check despite Fox fracas
Cablevision customers can relax. The cable operator just announced its prices for 2011. And it seems that the rates for its TV service will rise an average of 2.9% -- less than the 3.7% increase for 2010 and 3.5% for 2009.
Broadband and phone prices won't increase at all.
Surprised? You probably should be considering how much of a stink Cablevision recently made about the perils its 3.1 million subscribers would face if it cut a deal with Fox to carry its TV stations in New York and Philadelphia. Subscribers lost Fox for two weeks -- including the first two World Series games -- as the companies squabbled over contract terms.
Cablevision urged the Federal Communications Commission to step in to save consumers from a potentially onerous price increase. The FCC declined.
On Oct. 30, when Cablevision finally agreed on terms to bring Fox back, it still said that "in the end, our customers will pay more than they should for Fox programming" although less than they would have if the cable company hadn't resisted.
But Cablevision faces tougher competition than most cable companies do. Verizon is aggressively marketing its FiOS fiber optic service in Cablevision's territories around New York City. Satellite services DirecTV and Dish Network also offer alternatives.
John Trierweiler, Cablevision's senior vice president of product management, said in a statement that the company has "worked hard and been successful" in holding prices down "even given the impact of higher programming costs."
