Bill Increases
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Does Cox ever stop raising their prices? I opened this month's bill and another increase. I've been a customer for many years and I'm ready to cancel my service. I'm paying a ridiculous amount for in my opinion not that much service. I have 1 HD DVR, 3 movie channels and Internet and my bill just went up to $161 again. This company offers all kinds of deals for new customers but seems to do nothing for their current loyal customers. You have to call to speak to someone for hours to see if you can get a deal on your service. What kind of loyalty or customer service is that.
Ennad,
We understand your questions and concerns about Cox's recent price increases. We try hard to keep our prices as low as possible, and absorb most of the price increases we receive from TV networks and local broadcasters, but we can't absorb the total amount. As with the rate increase you mentioned, we have had to share a portion of the cost increase with our customers.
We’re required to pay millions to TV Networks such as ESPN, CNN, Fox News, TNT, Disney and MTV for their programming. Those costs keep rising. That’s the main reason for our price increases - and we're not alone. Both AT&T and Direct TV are implementing rate increases in February 2012 to offset programming costs. (Verizon and DISH raised their core rates as much as 12% last year).
We value your business, and want to be as upfront as possible about the cost of your service. Customers are notified about price increases through bill inserts, as well as in the “News from Cox” section of each monthly statement. Our paperless billing customers are notified of upcoming price changes via letters mailed though the U.S. Postal Service.
In case you missed seeing this message, I'll post a few answers to our customers’ most-asked questions:
Why do programming costs continue to go up?
Many items factor into the cost of programming, for example, professional athletes and actors continue to command huge salaries that are paid by studios, who then charge the stations and networks, who then charge cable and other pay-TV providers for their programming.Why can’t I just pay for the channels that I want to watch? (a la carte)
Cox often negotiates with the parent companies that own multiple television networks, and the contracts often state that Cox must offer all of the parent company’s channels in its line-up. For example, Viacom owns BET, CMT, COMEDY CENTRAL, LOGO, MTV channels, such as MTV and MTV2, NICKELODEON, NICK JR., NICK AT NITE, NICKTOONS, TEEN NICK, SPIKE, TVLAND, VH1 AND VH1 CLASSIC. Studies have also shown that if channels are offered independently, the cost per channel would be much higher and there would be less diversity in programming.Why does Cox have to pay local stations? Isn’t that programming available for free?
Cox has to pay “retransmission fees” for local programming. In other words, Cox has to pay local networks for their programming, even though it is available for free when broadcast over-the-air.Can’t Cox negotiate harder with programmers to keep increases at a minimum?
Cox negotiates fiercely with programmers to keep wholesale programming costs at a minimum. Sometimes these battles get heated and programmers threaten to pull their signals from Cox’s video lineup. This puts Cox in a difficult position, as our goal is to provide our customers with uninterrupted access to the television programs they enjoy. Therefore, Cox continues to advocate for our customers during negotiations and keep programming costs from becoming inflated while giving our customers access to the television shows they love to watch.
