Altice USA has responded to reports that it’s raising pay TV prices for customers in its Optimum footprint, promising subscribers that a number of service improvements are on the way.
“Altice USA continues to invest in our network and services to provide the best customer experience possible, from delivering faster internet speeds, preparing to introduce a new video experience, and deploying a fiber-to-the-home network that will enable even more innovative products to support our customers’ needs well into the future,” Altice spokeswoman Janet Meahan said in a statement emailed to FierceCable.
“We are committed to providing our Optimum customers with high-quality video services at a great value, and the adjustments made to certain video pricing reflect the rising cost of programming, particularly fees charged by sports networks and broadcasters,” Meahan added.
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Altice has begun a five-year initiative to deploy fiber-to-the-home services and multi-gigabit broadband speeds across its Optimum footprint, which spans parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
The cable company also has plans to also deploy within Optimum the video system it has already successfully launched in Europe, which it calls La Box.
After signing a major program licensing renewal with Disney last week, Altice USA is reportedly raising prices of pay-TV services across tiers in its Optimum footprint.
According local Connecticut news platform The Hour, the cable operator has begun informing Optimum customers in its region that the price of the “Broadcast Basic” tier will be increasing by as much as $6 a month.
Surcharges are going up, too. Previously, Altice only charged new Basic customers the $4-a-month “broadcast TV” surcharge. But starting with the November billing cycle, legacy subscribers to the tier will see the surcharge on their bills, as well.
Sports surcharges, meanwhile, will increase $1 to $2 a month, depending on the tier.
Explaining the increases to Connecticut regulators, Altice cited the usual “escalating fees charged by sports networks and broadcasters.”