Spectrum announces it will raise rates again at end of January

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — There is some bad news on the horizon for Spectrum customers.

Spectrum has announced the company plans to raise rates yet again, the company has raised rates repeatedly in recent years. Spectrum cable customers will be paying more beginning Jan. 30.

Here's a breakdown of some of the price increases.

Spectrum's mandatory broadcast TV surcharge will increase from $23.20 to $25.75 a month.
The company's affordable internet option for low-income households, Spectrum Internet Assist, will increase from $19.99 to $24.99 a month.

Spectrum's monthly HD Box rental fee will increase from $10.99 to $12.50.

The company's Advanced WiFi charge will increase from $5 to $7 a month.

Spectrum TV Essentials will increase from $24.99 to $29.99 a month. Spectrum's Entertainment View and Latino View packages will each increase from $12 to $15 a month.

In a statement, Spectrum said it is going to a new model that's focused on customers with more value and choices. Spectrum says programmers are continuing to raise rates which are then being passed on the consumer, driving up costs across the industry.

That is what Charter Communications Chief Financial Officer Jessica Fischer said last month in a webcast on the rising cost for cable.

"Programmer rate increases generally continue to challenge the video space overall, it's a viscous cycle, they push their price, we are no longer capable of doing anything other than pushing those price increases through to consumers," Fischer said.

This is happening as Spectrum is offering customers to switch to the Xumo streaming box which costs $5 a month or $60 to own it per box. But in order to get Xumo through Spectrum -- there's a catch -- you also have to be a Spectrum internet customer as well.

"Xumo enables our customers to have seamless access to all of those products so whether they want to access content through video or direct to the consumer to be able to do it in a way that allows them to access content," Fischer said.

Spectrum is the most widely available TV provider in the Buffalo area. With rising rates over the years, News 4 has heard from many Spectrum customers who say they can't take the price increases anymore and have decided to cut the cord and go with streaming.