Watching your favorite television show on EPB's Fi-TV connection will cost you anywhere from $2 to $11 more a month, starting in January.
EPB announced Monday it is boosting its cable TV rates by more than 13 percent in 2017 - the first rate increase for the utility since January 2015 and only the third increase since the municipal utility began its TV service in 2009.
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. "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."
EPB has 79,608 fiber residential customers, and 56,488 of those now subscribe to one of the three Fi TV options offered by EPB.
EPB does not plan any increase in its internet or telephone rates, EPB spokesman John Pless said. But Pless said higher charges from both broadcast TV stations and cable TV networks and other content providers have pushed up costs for EPB's television services.
Comcast and AT&T, which each raised their rates on their TV service in early 2016 because of higher content costs for the channels they offer, have not yet announced if their rates also will increase in 2017.
EPB now offers more than 130 streaming networks available to customers on their mobile devices. This summer, EPB also launched Fi TV Select, a new offering that gives customers more 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.
Wade said EPB is trying to be transparent with its pricing plans and insisted EPB will remain competitive even with the double-digit rate increase.
"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."
Contact Dave Flessner at dflessner@timesfreepress.com or at 757-6340