Mark Holtz
05-06-03, 11:49 PM
From Yahoo/Reuters (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=597&ncid=772&e=3&u=/nm/20030506/tv_nm/media_congress_dc)
Cable, TV Networks Blame Each Other for High Rates
Cable TV operators and content providers blamed each other for steadily rising cable rates on Tuesday, prompting lawmakers to suggest that consumers should have more say over which channels they wish to pay for.
Cable officials told the committee they were forced to raise rates to keep up with wholesale increases by channels such as Disney Co.'s ESPN sports network, which has raised its fees by 20 percent each year for the last five years. Contracts that require cable operators to carry many channels consumers may not want also lead to further rate increases, they said.
"Unwanted programming is being forced into the home, particularly sports programming," said Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp. . "The cable bill at the end of the month is increasing against the customer's wishes."
ESPN said in a statement consumers would protest if cable companies removed it from their basic subscription packages and noted that it only accounted for a fraction of the average consumer cable bill.
Full Article here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=597&ncid=772&e=3&u=/nm/20030506/tv_nm/media_congress_dc)
Cable, TV Networks Blame Each Other for High Rates
Cable TV operators and content providers blamed each other for steadily rising cable rates on Tuesday, prompting lawmakers to suggest that consumers should have more say over which channels they wish to pay for.
Cable officials told the committee they were forced to raise rates to keep up with wholesale increases by channels such as Disney Co.'s ESPN sports network, which has raised its fees by 20 percent each year for the last five years. Contracts that require cable operators to carry many channels consumers may not want also lead to further rate increases, they said.
"Unwanted programming is being forced into the home, particularly sports programming," said Charles Dolan, chairman of Cablevision Systems Corp. . "The cable bill at the end of the month is increasing against the customer's wishes."
ESPN said in a statement consumers would protest if cable companies removed it from their basic subscription packages and noted that it only accounted for a fraction of the average consumer cable bill.
Full Article here (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=597&ncid=772&e=3&u=/nm/20030506/tv_nm/media_congress_dc)