For price hike, cable TV thinks inside box

[dkreichen1968]

By RICHARD MULLINS | The Tampa Tribune Published: March 31, 2012

TAMPA -- Cable television will be a bit more expensive in the Tampa Bay area, even for customers who think they have a price locked in with a contract.

Both Verizon and Bright House are raising the price of renting their DVR set-top boxes, a price hike that will multiply depending on how many televisions are in a customer's home. A big reason: Sports.

Verizon is adding $1 to the rental rate of each DVR set-top box in all FIOS markets, including Tampa Bay, going from $15.99 to $16.99 a month, effective May 6. For customers paying promotional rates, the DVR set-top box fee will jump $4 from $12.99 to $16.99.

In a statement to customers, Verizon said, "We hope you understand that to continue to bring this level of programming and technology to you, from time to time we need to modify our rates," adding, "The best is yet to come. We are working right now to build a more exciting product, with even more TV channels in HD and new equipment in the home to allow you to view your favorite programs on all your screens."

A Verizon contract that locks in a monthly price only covers the television channel lineup, plus telephone and Internet service if they opt for a package deal. Set-top boxes are a separate item on the bill. This allows customers to add or subtract a box without losing the contract rate, said Verizon spokesman Bob Elek.

Read More: http://www2.tbo.com/news/breaking-n...ce-hike-cable-tv-thinks-inside-box-ar-386975/

A few thoughts: Verizon and Brighthouse recently entered into a "deal" for cell phone/wireless broadband spectrum that Brighthouse held as part of SpectrumCo. At $16.99 a month you can pay for a Channel Master TV (CM-7400) DVR in 2 years (not counting what you would save by not having cable), or pay for a TiVo with a lifetime subscription in 3 years. New HDTVs don't require a set top box to receive HDTV from a TV antenna.

 

[CptlA]

Friggin awesome, the price lock guarantees the rental prices of the service, not the equipment. LOL. That's when you know that laws were written to support corporations and not us peons.

 

[Orrymain]

That is aggravating. Been there, done that, fought that, actually won that. It was quite a while ago and with a company that no longer exists.