The average monthly price of expanded basic cable TV rose
5.4% in 2010, to $57.46, according to the FCC's annual report on cable industry
rates -- while for the third consecutive year, the commission found that cable
rates in "competitive" markets were higher.
The Federal Communications Commission, in the report released Monday, noted that the overall increase in
cable rates was higher than the 1.6% in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for
2010. From 1995 to 2011, the price of expanded basic service increased at a
compound average annual growth rate of 6.1% whereas the CPI increased at a CAGR
of 2.4%.
On a per-channel basis, however, the cost of cable TV has
risen slower than the pace of inflation, according to the FCC. In fact, the
price per channel for subscribers purchasing expanded basic service decreased
by 2.1% for the 12 months ended Jan. 1, 2011, to 57 cents per channel. Over the
past 16 years, the increase in price per channel was 0.9% annually.
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