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 NEWS  News  media  Information  202  /  418-  0500  Fax-  On-  Demand  202  /  418-  2830  T  TY  202/  418-  2555  Internet:  http://  www.  fcc.  gov  ftp.  fcc.  gov  Federal  Communications  Commission  445  12  th  Street,  S.  W.  Washington,  D.  C.  20554  This  is  an  unofficial  announcement  of  Commission  action.  Release  of  the  full  text  of  a  Commission  order  constitutes  official  action.  See  MCI  v.  FCC.  515  F  2d  385  (D.  C.  Circ  1974).  FOR  IMMEDIATE  RELEASE  NEWS  MEDIA  CONTACT  July  8,  2003  Michelle  Russo  (202)  418-  2358 
 FCC  RELEASES  REPORT  ON  2002  CABLE  INDUSTRY  PRICES 
 Washington,  DC  –  The  Federal  Communications  Commission  (FCC)  today  released  its  annual  report  on  cable  industry  prices.  The  report  includes  information  about  monthly  charges  for 
 the  basic  service  tier  (“  BST”)  and  cable  programming  service  tier  (“  CPST,”  also  known  as  “expanded  basic”),  monthly  charges  for  equipment,  installation  fees,  reconnect  fees,  and  fees  for 
 digital  service. 
 The  report  shows  that  the  overall  average  monthly  rate  for  cable  programming  services  and  equipment  increased  by  8.2%  from  $37.06  to  $40.11,  over  the  12-  month  period  ending  July  1,  2002. 
 This  compares  with  a  5-  year  compound  annual  rate  of  increase  of  7.1%  from  July  1997  to  July  2002.  Specifically,  the  8.2%  increase  reflects  average  increases  in  monthly  charges  of  3.7%  for  the 
 BST,  from  $13.93  to  $14.45;  10.8%  for  the  CPST,  from  $19.88  to  $22.02;  and  12.0%  for  equipment,  from  $3.25  to  $3.64,  over  the  same  period.  The  average  number  of  channels  increased 
 from  59.0  to  62.7  channels,  an  increase  of  6.3%  for  the  year  ending  July  1,  2002.  To  reflect  this  growth  in  channels,  the  FCC  calculated  the  average  rate  per  channel.  On  this  basis,  the  average 
 overall  monthly  rate  per  channel  increased  from  65.6  cents  to  66.4  cents  per  channel,  an  increase  of  1.2%.  Over  the  same  period,  the  consumer  price  index  increased  by  1.5%.  Thus,  in  real  terms,  the 
 per  channel  rate  fell  by  approximately  two-  tenths  of  one  percent. 
 The  report  also  compares  prices  charged  by  cable  operators  facing  effective  competition  with  those  of  cable  operators  not  facing  effective  competition.  Both  groups  increased  their  average 
 monthly  rate  for  programming  and  equipment  by  8.2%  over  the  12-  month  period  ending  July  1,  2002.  As  of  that  date,  cable  operators  facing  competition  were  charging,  on  average,  $37.84  while 
 operators  not  facing  competition  were  charging  $40.26.  The  difference  in  average  monthly  rates  between  the  competitive  and  noncompetitive  groups  (the  “competitive  differential”)  was  6.4%  for 
 2002,  close  to  the  5-  year  average  differential  of  6.5%.  On  a  per  channel  basis,  competitive  and  noncompetitive  cable  operators,  respectively,  charged  63.7  cents  and  66.6  cents  per  channel  as  of 
 July  1,  2002,  a  differential  in  average  monthly  rate  per  channel  of  4.6%. 


 A  full  copy  of  the  report  is  available  at  www.  fcc.  gov/  mb. 
 Action  by  the  Commission,  June  16,  2003,  by  Report  (FCC  03-  136).  Chairman  Powell,  Commissioners  Abernathy,  and  Martin  with  Commissioner  Copps  dissenting  and  issuing  a 


 statement  and  Commissioner  Adelstein  concurring  and  issuing  a  statement. 
 --  FCC  -- 
 Media  Bureau  contact:  Daniel  Hodes  and  John  Scott  at  (202)  418-  7200.  TTY:  (202)  418-  7172 
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