Once again, customers who receive cable television service in Albany and Clinton County from Mediacom will see a ‘rate adjustment’ before the end of the year, according to a letter forwarded to local officials in the company’s service area earlier this month.

According to the letter dated November 8, 2011, Mediacom will be implementing the following rate adjustments: $2 extra on broadcast basic from $26.50 to $28.50; $3 more on family cable, from $64.95 to $67.95; $0.55 more for family cable with Digital 1 Star, from $78.40 up to $78.94. Also, premium movie channels will increase by $2 each. Cinemax and Showtime will go from $10.95 per month to $12.95 per month, digital plus will also increase by $2, from $12 to $14 per month and wireless home networking will go from $2.95 to $3.95 effective with the rate adjustment.

The letter, signed by Lee Grassley, Senior Manager, Government Relations for Mediacom, noted the reasons and necessities for the hike in rates.

The letter read, “The decision to make price adjustments is always a difficult one. As our nation struggles to pull itself out of what has been called the Great Recession, we recognize that these are challenging times for the hard working men and women living in the communities that we serve. While we strive to keep expenses in check, there are some costs that we are simply unable to control. Our programming expenses, particularly with respect to broadcast television channels and live sports content, are escalating at a pace well in excess of inflation.”

The letter further reads, “The fees we pay to retransmit local broadcast stations like ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC are by far our fasting growing programming cost component. Outdated federal laws give the local broadcast stations monopoly power over network and syndicated programming within their respective market areas. Over the past few years, many broadcasters have used their monopoly powers to demand 100 percent, 200 percent or even 300 percent rate increases during contract negotiations. This has driven up cable and satellite rates and force American consumers to pay billions of dollars for “free” over-the-air television.

“The problem with sports programming are equally as alarming. One look at the skyrocketing rights fees announced with deals and it is easy to see that the market place for live televised sports is out of control. Fox and Telemundo bought the rights to broadcast the 2018 and 2022 World Cup in the U.S. for $1 billion. Comcast/NBC Universal agreed to pay $4.38 billion to televise four Olympic Games through 2020. ESPN renewed its rights deal with the NFL for Monday Night Football, agreeing to pay over $15 billion for eight years, or 70 percent more than it currently pays. These are just a few examples of the unrestrained spending that has become the hallmark of the sports programming business.

“Contrary to public perception, cable companies are reluctant to raise video prices because when we do, we lose subscribers. Mediacom does not make more money when we raise video rates, since we remit virtually every penny of the increase on to the programmers. In fact, over the last three years, our programming cost increases were more than double our video revenue increases.

“Since the programming community has been unwilling to exercise even the slightest measure of self-restraint when it comes to reigning in their spending or increasing their price demands, Mediacom has taken the fight to Washington. We have asked the Federal Communications Commission and Members of Congress to protect senior citizens, low-income households and rural residents from practices that are rendering pay television unaffordable for more and more Americans. We invite the leaders of your community to do the same.”

The letter concluded, “Despite the business challenges we face, Mediacom appreciates the opportunity to continue to serve your community’s telecommunications needs.”