Comcast will be increasing the prices for many of their services including cable TV and internet starting January 2018. The details of the new rates will be sent to their customers along with the bill of the previous month of December. The average price per month would increase from a range of $4.50 for Comcasts Digital Premier Service to $4 for a package of two premium channels and for standalone internet service, the prices are most likely to increase by $2.
However, according to Michael Bybee, a spokesman for Comcast, the prices wont be applicable to those who have promotional rates or those who have negotiated rates on their contracts. These people would have to abide by the new rates policy when their contracts come to an end. Mr. Bybee also stated that this increase was initially planned for the month of October but was delayed due to Hurricane Harvey.
Comcast is not the only company that is increasing its prices, there are many others who have adopted this policy of increasing their rates in January 2018. AT&Ts DIRECTV service is also increasing its prices as announced by the company. AT&T is planning to increase its rates from a range of 20 cents for some of the regional sports, to $8 for DIRECTV Ultimate Premier Package per month. There has been no formal announcement by the company about its internet service prices for the month of January.
Other than that, Dish TV has also taken the necessary steps to increase its rates in January 2018. Most of the channel bundles are expected to go up by $5; $3 for programming and $2 for all the local channels. Furthermore, Netflix also made a statement about their prices that the standard service rate would go up by $1, from $10 to $11 in January.
Due to these high rates many companies are facing the problem of customer retention. According to some statistics, AT&T lost almost 385,000 subscribers in the previous quarter of 2017 while Comcast lost around 125,000 subscribers in the same time frame.
Comcast and Dish TV increased the rates of their services just after the Federal Communications Commission voted along the party lines to repeal net neutrality rules. According to Mark Vena, an analyst for Moor Insights $ Strategy, these increases in prices may not be good for these companies as the timings are auspicious and these companies might lose more customers in the future because an increase in prices is certainly not something that their customers want as a Christmas present.
However, according to Michael Bybee, a spokesman for Comcast, the prices wont be applicable to those who have promotional rates or those who have negotiated rates on their contracts. These people would have to abide by the new rates policy when their contracts come to an end. Mr. Bybee also stated that this increase was initially planned for the month of October but was delayed due to Hurricane Harvey.
Comcast is not the only company that is increasing its prices, there are many others who have adopted this policy of increasing their rates in January 2018. AT&Ts DIRECTV service is also increasing its prices as announced by the company. AT&T is planning to increase its rates from a range of 20 cents for some of the regional sports, to $8 for DIRECTV Ultimate Premier Package per month. There has been no formal announcement by the company about its internet service prices for the month of January.
Other than that, Dish TV has also taken the necessary steps to increase its rates in January 2018. Most of the channel bundles are expected to go up by $5; $3 for programming and $2 for all the local channels. Furthermore, Netflix also made a statement about their prices that the standard service rate would go up by $1, from $10 to $11 in January.
Due to these high rates many companies are facing the problem of customer retention. According to some statistics, AT&T lost almost 385,000 subscribers in the previous quarter of 2017 while Comcast lost around 125,000 subscribers in the same time frame.
Comcast and Dish TV increased the rates of their services just after the Federal Communications Commission voted along the party lines to repeal net neutrality rules. According to Mark Vena, an analyst for Moor Insights $ Strategy, these increases in prices may not be good for these companies as the timings are auspicious and these companies might lose more customers in the future because an increase in prices is certainly not something that their customers want as a Christmas present.