Wave Broadband has informed local officials within its Washington State footprint that it’s preparing to raise prices on pay-TV services.
As reported by the Kitsap Daily News, Tim Klinefelter, executive VP of broadband services for Wave, sent a letter to Port Orchard, Washington, Mayor Rob Putaansuu, letting him know that Wave would be increasing prices on basic-tier video services by $1.96 on Aug. 5.
The price hike, Klinefelter said, “is the direct result of annual programming cost increases from TV networks owned by Disney/ESPN, Turner Networks, regional sports programmers, and independent channel providers.”
"Wave strives to keep its cable packages affordable by directly passing along its programming costs, with zero mark-up," Wave spokesman Mark Peterson told FierceCable, in a statement.
RELATED: Wave purchased by equity firm TPG for $2.36B, combined with RCN
Klinefelter added, “At Wave Broadband, we work hard to establish the best channel selection for our customers and communities while balancing rapidly increasing programming costs.”
In May, private equity firm TPG Capital purchased Kirkland, Washington-based cable operator Wave Broadband with plans to combine it with its RCN operation.
The purchase price for parent company WaveDivision Holdings LCC was listed at $2.36 billion.
“Over the last several years we have accelerated our growth substantially by expanding from our heritage of residential broadband services into enterprise-grade fiber,” said Steve Weed, founder and CEO of Wave Broadband, in a statement. “We are excited that our new partners in TPG and RCN recognize the value of what we have created, and share our passion for creating happy customers—we are eager to enter our next era of growth alongside them.”