Cable rates set to change April 1
Beginning April 1, some Charter Communications digital cable subscribers will face larger bills and smaller channel selections as the cable company merges its “value packages.”
The change comes, said Charter vice president and general manger Anthony Pope, as many customers’ introductory offer packages expire and the company looks to move them into its general retail packages, while doing its best to provide them with better channel selections at prices comparable to what they are currently paying.
“We’re giving our customers the opportunity to select one of three value packages with one of our three-tier services and the option to select high-speed Internet choices. This is not a forced move to make customers choose channels they don’t want. We apologize if anyone has been misled,” said Pope.
Charter’s new package selections include “Big,” “Bigger,” and “Biggest” choices, each of which have three progressively more expensive options. The company’s cheapest choice, Big value package, is $49.99 a month and includes its expanded basic service and one-tier service (family, sports, movie or Latino).
At the top end is the Biggest value package. This package costs $105.98 a month and includes Charter’s basic expanded service, one-tier service, HBO/Cinemax, STARZ!/Encore and 2MB high-speed Internet.
Currently, some Charter digital customers receive a package which includes the company’s basic expanded package, as well as its family tier, sports tier and 384k high-speed Internet, for just over $80 a month.
To receive a similar package under the realignment, this same customer will have to choose either the family tier or the sports tier. Additionally, he or she will also have to choose either HBO/Cinemax or STARZ!/Encore, movie channels which are not part of the current package. The price for this package is just over $90 a month.
Pope said the packages set to take effect April 1 should stay in effect for a least a year.
“Typically new packages are introduced annually as new technology becomes available,” he said.