Page 24 - aruba-today-20180106

Saturday 6 January 2018 TECHNOLOGY
A24

Why cable bills are rising again and what can you do

By TALI ARBEL ready dealing with cus-
AP Technology Writer tomers dropping TV ser-
NEW YORK (AP) — Cable vice entirely. That hurts the
and satellite TV providers networks, too, as their fees
are ringing in the new year are based on the number
with an unwelcomed gift: of subscribers. It’s in every-
higher cable bills. one’s interest to keep you
Comcast, for instance, as a customer, even if you
says customer bills will rise are paying less.
2.2 percent, on average, Many promotions are au-
in 2018. AT&T is raising Di- tomatic after you initially
recTV’s prices by up to $8 sign up for service and last
a month in mid-January. for a year or two. That may
Smaller providers are plan- protect you from imme-
ning increases, too. diate price hikes, at least
Over the past decade, partially. Those deals don’t
prices for TV service have always include equipment
risen almost twice as fast charges and separate fees
as inflation, according to for over-the-air networks,
an analysis of government including ABC, CBS, Fox
data. Data provider S&P and NBC (yes, you’re pay-
Global Market Intelligence ing for them, too, even
says customers’ cable though they are free with
and satellite TV bills have an antenna).
soared 53 percent since This Wednesday, May 30, 2007, file photo shows a cable box on top of a television in Philadelphia. CORD-CUTTING
2007, to $100.98 in 2017. Cable and satellite TV providers are ringing in 2018 with an unwelcomed gift: higher cable bills. An increasingly popular
Annual rate hikes are as Associated Press option is to just peace out.
guaranteed as death and TV, radio and tech compa- making it an optional add- ages in the process. BillFix- Though there are still 94 mil-
taxes. But you can push nies that stream games, up on. ESPN sued, and now ers, a service that fights on lion cable and satellite TV
back and trim your bill. from $11.6 billion in 2012. Verizon offers a sports-fo- your behalf in return for a customers, that’s roughly
WHY PRICES RISE That’s expected to keep cused basic package with cut of your savings, esti- 4 million fewer than two
Cable companies point to growing as tech compa- ESPN alongside ones that mates that 55 percent of years ago, according to
rising fees they pay to carry nies such as Amazon and doesn’t have sports. customers are on a promo- MoffettNathanson Re-
TV networks. The networks, Facebook become more Beyond sports, networks tion at any given time. search.
in turn, have their own rising interested in sports, mean- pay for high-quality TV se- But just having a discount You don’t have to drop
costs — particularly sports, ing more competition for ries to compete with hits on doesn’t mean it’s a good TV networks completely.
as they willingly pay more rights to televise games. Amazon, Netflix and other one. BillFixers’ founder, Online TV services such as
to sports leagues for what The big winner in the TV services. Those costs are Ben Kurland, recommends YouTube TV, DirecTV Now
they consider must-have ecosystem? “If anyone’s passed along, too. calling to complain about and Sling TV offer smaller
programming. But the net- the beneficiary it’s NFL In all, S&P Global Market prices and rejecting the packages of channels, of-
works also know they can players,” Pivotal Research Intelligence estimates that first deal offered. More of- ten for less than what ca-
pass those costs back to Group analyst Brian Wieser network fees that cable ten than not, a better dis- ble charges.
cable companies and ulti- said. companies are paying are count will be available if MoffettNathanson es-
mately their subscribers. Meanwhile, to get the nearly 2.5 times what they you ask for it. timates these services
It’s industry convention that biggest audience pos- were a decade ago. Repeatedly. have 3.5 million customers
a cable bundle needs live sible, many entertainment PUSH BACK If you decide to cut one combined. Make sure the
sports. Otherwise, cable companies like Disney re- You can threaten to ditch of your services, like your service has your favorite
companies risk losing sub- quire cable companies to your cable company in home phone, but you feel channels, as these services
scribers to Netflix and other include expensive chan- hopes of getting a dis- that you are still paying too have notable gaps.
sports-less alternatives. nels in the most popular count. Companies will of- much, Kurland advises call- Antennas are also avail-
The consulting firm PwC es- bundles. Verizon tried to ten offer a promotional ing back again in a month able for $50 or less. You get
timates that sports leagues offer a cheaper package rate for a year or two — and seeing if there are any over-the-air networks for
in North America raked in by dropping Disney’s ESPN though they may also try to new discounts. free, although reception
$18.4 billion in 2016 from from a basic package, get you to upgrade pack- Cable companies are al- might not be perfect.

Border inspections of electronic devices hits record high Be careful: Paying for on-
line services to replace TV
By JILL COLVIN vices in fiscal year 2017, forcing the law at the U.S. without warrants or prob- could eventually add up
Associated Press which ended in Septem- border and to protecting able cause. to more than a $100 cable
WASHINGTON (AP) — The ber — a nearly 60 per- the American people,” CBP officials credit the bill, especially as more ser-
government inspected a cent spike from 2016, CBP’s deputy executive spike, in part, to the fact vices are created to com-
record number of interna- when 19,051 devices were assistant commissioner that people now carry pete for your dollars. Dis-
tional travelers’ electronic searched. John Wagner said in a more devices — often sev- ney, for instance, is pulling
devices last year, expand- But the agency stressed statement. eral at a time — along with its movies from Netflix and
ing a practice that has the searches represent The searches are aimed at growing traveler volume plans its own streaming ser-
drawn alarm from privacy just a tiny fraction — 0.007 combatting terrorism, child and risk assessments. vice in 2019. On the other
advocates. percent of arriving inter- pornography and other The agency Friday also hand, it’s easy to cancel
U.S. Customs and Border national travelers — out of crimes. But the practice released an updated writ- after a month or two of
Protection announced Fri- more than 397 million. has drawn fire from priva- ten direction that clarifies catching up on shows;
day that its border agents “In this digital age, border cy advocates who argue how passwords and cloud cancelling cable is a chore
inspected 30,200 phones searches of electronic de- the government shouldn’t data should be handled, by comparison.q
and other electronic de- vices are essential to en- be able to search devices among other changes.q