Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh Calls on FCC to Implement
‘A La Carte’ Pricing Option for Cable TV Consumers
To Counter Skyrocketing Prices

Newark, NJ – Ratepayer Advocate Seema M. Singh called on the Federal Communications Commission to give consumers the right to pick the cable television channels they watch in order to counter skyrocketing cable TV prices by implementing “a la carte” pricing rules.

The Ratepayer Advocate, who has taken a national leadership position for the past two years in advocating what is known as “a la carte” service and pricing, called on the FCC to give consumers more choice, better quality and lower rates for cable television.

“The Ratepayer Advocate has been a longstanding supporter of a la carte pricing because cable prices have risen to alarming levels in New Jersey,” Ratepayer Advocate Singh wrote in a letter electronically submitted to the FCC on Thursday, July 15. “This trend of skyrocketing cable prices has spread to other parts of the country and competition from satellite television has failed to effectively control these runaway cable prices.”

Ms. Singh told the FCC, “The time has come to give consumers more choice in picking the cable channels they want instead of being forced into buying a tier of channels, some of which they never watch. There is no denying that cable prices have risen over the past several years and will continue to rise unless some action is taken to rein in cable bills.”

Ms. Singh said that although cable industry leaders often blame rising programming costs for these rising cable prices, cable operators have been hesitant to provide local franchising authorities with verifiable programming cost and revenue data to evaluate the impact of programming costs on cable rates. In New Jersey, the state Board of Public Utilities is the local franchising authority.
Ms. Singh said that cable operators submit only their basic tier programming costs to the BPU as part of the rate regulation process and do not routinely submit any programming costs to the Commission. As a result, cable operators do not disclose to any regulatory body what they are actually paying for most of their programming.

The Ratepayer Advocate said that cable operators should be required to provide specific information about all channel programming costs, revenues and discounts. “Until this vital information is provided, no definitive proof will exist to support the claim that rising programming costs alone have led to higher cable rates,” Ms. Singh said.

“The Ratepayer Advocate strongly believes that consumers should not only have access to information concerning the price of the entire bundled service offering, but the price for each component of the bundled service as well,” Ms. Singh told the FCC.

“With access to such information, the consumer can assess what discounts they are receiving for purchasing the bundled service versus the price of the bundled service if each component was purchased separately,” she wrote. “The disclosure of the separately priced component will assist consumers in deciding to purchase a bundled offering or a basic service tier package with other services purchased on an a la carte basis.”

Ratepayer Advocate Singh’s letter to the FCC will be used as the federal regulatory agency considers adopting a la carte services and pricing.

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The Division of the Ratepayer Advocate is an independent state agency that represents the interests of utility consumers and serves as an active participant in every case where New Jersey utilities seek changes in their rates or services. The Ratepayer Advocate also gives consumers a voice in setting long-range energy, water, and telecommunications policy that will affect the delivery of utility services well into the future.

Additional information on this and other matters can be found at the Division of Ratepayer Advocate’s website at http://www.rpa.state.nj.us

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