EPB will raise the price of its cable TV service in January, boosting rates for EPB FI TV customers anywhere from $2 to $11 a month.
EPB President David Wade said the higher rates are needed to cover higher content charges for television programming.
“Across the television industry, networks are charging higher and higher rates for their content,” Wade said in a statement announcing the rate increase today. “For two years, we’ve held the line on TV pricing for our customers despite double digit increases in the fees networks charge for programming, but unfortunately, we’ve reached a point where it is necessary to pass these content costs along to subscribers.”
Although most cable TV providers raise their rates most years, EPB has had only two rate increases in its cable TV charges since the power utility expanded into telecommunications services in 2009.
EPB does not plan any increase in its Internet, telephone rates.
Wade said EPB sets itself apart by being transparent.
“Our pricing is simple by design, and we communicate it clearly to ensure that customers understand what they will pay from the outset and have plenty of notice when it’s necessary to make a change,” Wade said. “Our television offering remains very competitively priced with no hidden fees. In fact, EPB customers are generally paying less in total for comparable content and bundled services.”
EPB now offers more than 130 streaming networks that are available to customers wherever and whenever they have a mobile device. This summer EPB launched Fi TV Select, a new offering that gives customers greater flexibility in choosing content along with enhanced features like 4K Ultra HD picture quality.
At the same time, EPB has added customer-requested content like the SEC Channel, IFC and Sundance.