Basic Cable Retail Price Up 4.4% in 2015, Media Bureau Says

The average monthly subscriber price for basic cable-TV service rose 4.4 percent, to $25.40, in 2015, said the FCC Media Bureau's latest annual cable price report (see 1802090002) in Friday's Daily Digest. The bureau said the average price for expanded basic service gained 3.4 percent to $71.37. It said over the five years ending Jan. 1, 2016, expanded basic service grew on average 4.4 percent annually. In communities with a finding of effective competition, the average price of expanded basic service grew by 3.3 percent to $73.08, in 2015. In noncompetitive communities, the average price of expanded basic increased 3.5 percent to $69.80. Cable's expanded basic service was typically slightly more expensive than DirecTV's Choice package Dish Network's AT120+ package.