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http://www.omniture.com --> Sections Home Page Local News AP News Blogs Archives Business Classifieds Event Calendar Forums Life Opinion Obituaries Multimedia Photo Gallery Readers Photo Gallery Sports Tempo Weather Road Cams Special Coverage 2006 Britt Festivals --> Shop Our Valley AutoFinder HomeFinder JobFinder Search Our Valley Special Sections Distinctly Northwest Readers' Choice Homelife Magazine Joy Magazine Oregon Golf Info Oregon Wine Info Other Publications Local Links Ashland News eSouthernOregon Newspapers In Education Personals Moving Here Movie Listings TV Listings Volunteer Customer Service Advertise With Us Media Kit Place Classified Ad Contact Us FAQ's Home Delivery Site Map --> Email Story to a Friend February 14, 2007 Cable TV prices to go up in Ashland By Vicki aldous for the Mail Tribune ASHLAND — The company that took over the city of Ashland's cable television service last fall will raise prices in March, and the monthly bill for some customers will nearly double. Ashland Home Net has offered the Community Tier for $9.99 per month, the Basic Tier for $17.99 per month and the Expanded Basic Tier for $38.99 per month. Those prices include fees and taxes. In March, the bottom and middle tiers will be combined into the Community/Basic Tier for $18.99, while the Expanded Tier will cost $47.99. Fees and taxes will be extra. Ashland Home Net President Gary Nelson said he has tried to hold prices down, but channel providers have made demands that require price increases. His company also must consolidate its three levels of television service into two levels. "We're at the mercy of our channel providers and they pretty much dictate what we do whether we like it or not," Nelson said. Advertisement He said even without pressure from channel providers, he would have had to raise prices eventually, but he would have preferred smaller increases and three levels of service. Ashland Home Net had continued the city's practice of quoting prices with fees and taxes included, but that put the city and then the company at a disadvantage against Charter Communications, which does not include fees and taxes when quoting prices to prospective customers. Fees and taxes add a few dollars to monthly bills. Nelson said that across the nation, television channel providers that sell channels to retailers like Ashland Home Net have been raising prices. Additionally, with Ashland Home Net's customers divided among three service levels, no single tier has a high enough percentage of all customers to meet the demands of channel providers, he said. The first tier has 10 percent of customers, while the second tier has 30 percent and the third tier has 60 percent, Nelson said. Channel providers want to reach 80 to 95 percent of viewers in order to have more customers and to charge more for advertising, he said. One channel provider had already shut off three channels in December when Ashland Home Net was not meeting its demands, Nelson said. With Ashland Home Net's coming cancellation of its middle tier of service, customers of Tier 2, or the Basic level, need to call the company and say whether they want to go to the bottom tier or the top tier, he said. About 1,000 customers will need to have their homes rewired to fit with the new channel configurations, he said. Ashland Home Net is sending out newsletters to customers explaining the changes and giving instructions. Customers should call the company, not the city-owned Ashland Fiber Network, which previously ran the cable television service, Nelson said. The company expects to lose some customers because of the price and service level changes, he said. Craig Watson, vice president of communications for Charter, said television programmers with popular channels want those channels to be viewed by the highest percentage of customers. They also charge the highest prices for the channels. "But a bigger company has more clout to negotiate mutually agreed upon deal points in terms of price and penetration," Watson said. He said companies that retail the television channels must pass on higher prices or see their profits shrink. Charter had its own round of price increases in October 2006, raising the price of its Basic package from $13.07 per month to $19.99 per month in Ashland. The Expanded Basic price went from $32.40 per month to $36.99 per month for existing customers, and to $47.99 per month for new customers. Nelson said Ashland Home Net's ability to offering rates that are comparable to Charter's — even though the national company can negotiate better deals with channel providers — shows his company's commitment to providing service at a low cost to residents. Vickie Aldous is a reporter for the Ashland Daily Tidings. She can be reached at 482-3456 or [email protected]. Would you like to respond to this story? 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