Signal Winter 2017 Newsletter

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Programming costs have increased sharply over past few years
Who Profits fromYour Cable TV Bill?
What are programming costs?
All satellite and cable providers (TV providers) pay each
network owner (programmer) a fee for every household that
receives a particular network – regardless of whether anyone in
the household actually watches it.
These network fees have increased dramatically at 3 1/2 times
the inflation rate over the last 15 years. In the past five years
alone, just one channel increased by $2.32/month/customer.
When you consider that each channel in the lineup costs more
to offer every year, you can begin to see why cable prices have
increased so sharply.
Programmers are securing long-term contracts that contain sig-
nificant fee increases, regardless of how many people actually
watch. Costs for each channel are turned directly over to the
programmers (Disney, Fox, Turner, etc.), and represent a vast
majority of your cable TV bill.
What are service costs?
This includes installation costs, along with maintaining and
upgrading our network. The bulk of this portion is used to
build a better Internet and entertainment experience, and net-
work costs are shared among the different services we provide.
Why does your lineup include channels you never watch?
Many customers would prefer to pay for only the most popular
networks and a select group of quality, special interest ones
that appeal to them. This is something many satellite and cable
TV providers want to offer, but most networks prohibit this in
their contracts.
Cable TV service costs more than anyone at Alliance wants it to cost. Over the past 15 years, prices have
increased sharply due to the fees Alliance pays programmers for their channels. We want to help you better
understand the economics of the TV business and your cable bill.
Your monthly cable bill has two big cost buckets: programming costs and service costs.