Dish today has begun alerting existing subscribers that prices on their programming packages will rise next month, the fourth major pay TV operator to announce that it’s hiking monthly video fees in 2018.
Dish, DIRECTV, Comcast and Cox now have all announced that prices will go up, although the pay TV industry has been losing customers in the last few years largely because of rising prices.
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In a notice posted today at its web site, the satcaster says the following plans will see price increases starting January 16, 2018:
Welcome Pack — $19.99 to $22.99
Smart Pack — $41.99 to $44.99
Dish America — $54.99 to $59.99
America’s Top 120 — $69.99 to $74.99
America’s Top 120 Plus — $74.99 to $79.99
America’s Top 200 — $84.99 to $89.99
America’s Top 250 — $94.99 to $99.99
America’s Everything Pack — $144.99 to $149.99
The Dish ‘Flex Pack,’ which costs $34.99 a month, will not change, the satcaster says. (Note: Dish says promotional prices will stay the same until the promotional period ends.)
Dish is also raising prices on several add-on programming plans, such as the Locals Pack ($10 a month to $12 a month); National Action Pack ($10 a month to $12 a month); Regional Action Pack ($10 a month to $12 a month);
Cox revealed last week that it will raise prices on all video plans on January 7.
FierceCable.com writes that a Cox customer has posted a notice from Cox at the DSLReports Forum that says the company’s $41-a-month Flex Watch skinny bundle will increase by $1 a month while the ‘Contour TV’ plan will rise by $5 a month.
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Other Cox video plans will also see small monthly increases as will the cable operator’s ‘Broadcast Fee,’ which will increase from $4 a month to $7.50 a month.
Cox assures customers in promotional plans that their prices will not rise until the promotional period has ended. (The cable operator is also raising prices on Broadband and phone service on January 7.)
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DIRECTV has also begun alerting subscribers that their video bills will rise next month, ranging from a $2-a-month increase for the Select plan to $8-a-month hike for the Ultimate Premier package.
The satellite TV service says it will also raise the a la carte price of The Outdoor Channel by $1.49 a month to $4.99 a month; and regional sports channel fees will go up in some areas by as much as $1 a month. (Some areas will see no change in RSN fees while some markets will see increases from 20 to 70 cents a month. DIRECTV has not revealed which areas will get the RSN price hikes.)
And Comcast began notifying customers in several markets this fall that prices will increase. The biggest percentage increase will be the ‘sports fee,’ which will increase by $2 a month, and the ‘broadcast fee,’ which will rise by $1.50 a month.
Comcast now charges $5 a month for the ‘sports fee,’ which is intended to recover its acquisition costs for regional sports channels, and $7 a month for the broadcast fee, which covers carriage fees for local network affiliates.
Charter, Verizon, and AT&T’s U-verse have yet to reveal price increases for the new year.
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== Phillip Swann
All that is going to happen is more subscribers will be forced to cut the cord and go over to IP based services.
The different providers will keep raising prices while hemorrhaging customers.
Not the best way to compete or reverse the current trend.
Wonder why they want to Destroy their customer base ?
Guess they got tired of making people HAPPY.
They could tell the PROVIDERS; This is ENOUGH.
WE are NOT going to pay your CRAZY prices anymore.
But the FOOLS who run the Pay TV Companies don’t care.
It will be interesting to see how the end of net nuetrality will affect the equation, Since these cable companies are also ISPs.