Peter Svensson writing for the Associated Press:
The U.S. subscription-TV industry first showed a small net loss of subscribers a year ago. This year, that trickle has turned into a stream.
I pay Comcast $65/month for Cable Internet and Basic Cable.
I don’t need Basic Cable — I don’t even have a TV attached to it. However Comcast would charge me an additional $5/month for Internet-only service.
That’s right, Comcast would charge me more if I declined a service.
I initially thought it had something to do with Universal Service-style municipal regulations, but now I suspect Comcast wants to prop up its “TV subscribers” number, the way magazines will give away subscriptions to inflate their readership numbers.
I’m impressed a single customer is worth ~$60/year to Comcast to keep them on their subscriber books. Seems high.
