It's no surprise to anyone that cable prices continue to go up year after year. But why exactly does it go up all of the time? Are the increasing prices justifiable with peoples wages and inflation? In this article we are going to go over just how much the average cable bill has gone up and if it is in line with other consumer goods.
In the past 18 years the average cable bill has gone from $60 (in 2017 dollars) to $105. This is a 74% increase in price even when accounting for inflation. This means that the average cable bill in the United States has almost doubled in 18 years.
This basically means that your cable bill goes up an average of 5.5% each year. Each year a larger percentage of our hard earned money goes to the cable company. 5.5% may not sound like a huge amount, but when you factor in that the average wage in the United States has not gone up, most people are making the same amount of money but paying more each year for cable.
It is no surprise that over 86% of cable cutters listed price as the number one reason they cancelled their service. We feel that the country has reached a tipping point with cable companies. For years they were the only game in town, but the internet has given the consumer so many options when it comes to video content. People are utilizing streaming services in mass numbers for two reasons, They are cheaper and all of the content is on demand. It is really a no brainer when consumers have so many new options that are cheaper and better.
Another reason people are cutting the cord is the rise in popularity of Local HD Antennas. The author of this article has a Mohu 65 mile antenna and gets 67 local channels and the monthly fee is $0. With an HD antenna you can get all of the major networks like FOX, ABC, NBC, CBS, PBS and the CW in crystal clear HD for free each month. Here is another fun fact, 96% of the countries most popular shows and events are aired on these 6 channels. Click below to read our article on why an HD antenna is by far the best value in TV watching around!
Why a Local HD Antenna is the best value in TV watching!
You would think that with so many great streaming and on demand services as well as newer high quality HD antennas that cable companies would be doing everything in their power to offer better services and make their prices more competitive. But they are doing the complete opposite. They want to pretend that Netflix, Sling, FuboTV and HD antennas do not exist. They continue to raise their prices while offering the exact same service. Then in board room meetings they wonder why customers are running from them like they have the plague.
In a recent brilliant move to alienate paying customers, Comcast decided to raise all of their internet speeds but only for customers that also have a cable package. I guess the thought process was "We offer 3 main products, we have lots of people dropping one product but keeping the other. Let's punish our loyal customers who always pay us on time each month for one service, by upgrading the internet speeds for only the people who pay for two services."
This is literally the thought process at one of the largest cable companies. We are losing cable subscribers due to our high prices and explosion of more affordable competition, let's punish our loyal internet subscribers and alienate them into buying cable from us. You literally couldn't make this stuff up.
This type of passive aggressive thinking and disdain for their loyal paying customers is a perfect example of why people are cutting the cord in such large numbers.
If you are one of the few last cable subscribers, we would love for you to check out the Skystream III Plus Streaming Media Player. It allows you to use services like Netflix, Hulu, Sling, FuboTV, Youtube and thousands of other Android apps on your TV to stream all of your favorite content. We even have the Skystream III Plus Cord Cutting Package that includes a high quality Mohu HD Antenna so you can get all of the major networks in HD for free each month.
Stop paying the ever increasing cable bill and join the millions of other people just like yourself that have cut the cord and are enjoying watching more content and paying less money each month!
If you do plan on keeping your cable and or internet service, you definitely need to read our article on How to get cheaper cable and internet bills each month!
