The Federal Communications Commission has released a Report on Cable Industry Prices as of January 1, 2016, as required by Section 623(k) of the Communications Act of 1934, as amended by the Cable Television Consumer Protection Act of 1992 (Cable Act). The Commission collected data on monthly prices to purchase basic service, expanded basic service, the next most popular service, and cable equipment. Additionally, the communities surveyed included those that were found to have effective competition (the “effective competition group”) and communities not found to have effective competition (the “noncompetitive group). Among the report’s findings are the following:
- The average monthly price for subscribers who take only basic service grew by an average of 4.4 percent, to $25.40, over the 12 months ending January 1, 2016.
- The average monthly price for subscribers who take expanded basic service rose by 3.4 percent over the same one-year period to $71.37. Between 2011 and 2016, the price of expanded basic service increased, on average, 4.4 percent annually.
- While the average price per-channel over the same five year period decreased, on average, by 3.9 percent, it rose during the 2015 calendar year by 2.1 percent to $0.47 per channel. By comparison, the rate of general inflation measured by the CPI (on all items) rose by 1.4 percent for the same one year period.
- Over the 12 months ending on January 1, 2016, on average, the price of expanded basic service in effective competition communities rose by 3.3 percent to $73.08, and price per channel increased by 1.8 percent to $0.42 per channel. In comparison, the average price of expanded basic service in noncompetitive communities grew by 3.5 percent, to $69.80, and average price per channel grew by 2.2 percent to $0.51 per channel.
- From 2014 to 2015, retransmission consent fees paid by cable systems to television broadcast stations increased, on average, by 33.9 percent.
- When compared to DBS video service providers such as Dish Network and AT&T’s DirecTV, the average price of cable’s expanded basic service ($71.37) was slightly higher than comparable offerings on DirecTV ($70.95) and Dish Network ($64.99) as of January 1, 2016. Similarly, cable’s price-per-channel for comparable expanded basic service ($0.47) was higher than DirecTV ($0.42) and Dish Network ($0.41).
