Comcast has begun notifying customers in some cities across the country that it will raise cable TV rates starting Jan. 1.
The company has not announced increases in Colorado, where Comcast has about 800,000 cable customers.
Comcast rates are determined locally. Adjustments to Colorado rates typically are made in March, said Comcast spokeswoman Cindy Parsons.
Rates for Comcast’s digital telephone and high-speed Internet service will not increase next year, Parsons said.
According to news reports, Comcast recently notified customers of cable rate increases in Philadelphia, San Francisco, Sacramento, Calif.; Richmond, Va.; and Everett, Wash. The average increases range from 3.2 percent in the Philadelphia area to 5.9 percent in the California markets.
Comcast increased Colorado cable rates by an average of 4.4 percent in March. Satellite TV companies DirecTV and EchoStar Communications, the Douglas County-based operator of Dish Network, each raised rates by an average of 4 percent this year.
The companies attributed rate hikes to higher programming costs and improvements to service.
Current Comcast cable rates in Denver are $13.69 a month for the most basic service, $45.69 for a standard package and $55.64 for the lowest- priced digital package that includes video-on-demand, according to the company’s website.
Comcast said it had improved customer service, added programming and improved reliability. The company continued to add hours of free programming to its video- on-demand service.
Philadelphia-based Comcast is the nation’s largest cable company, with 24.1 million customers.
Staff writer Greg Griffin can be reached at 303-954-1241 or ggriffin@denverpost.com.
