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DAL _VICE CHAIRMAN MACHT -COMMENTS ONTO (CABLE <br />e <br />TV) RATE INCREASE <br />Tress Journal hursda <br />Y, May 7,1698, 3A. <br />TCI prepares- <br />to <br />reparesto raise* rates.. <br />Tele-Communications Inc. will <br />raise rates in June by an averagef <br />3.2 percent — a `.very modest". in- <br />crease, officials said. ... .� <br />The 'cost to local subscribers .of <br />expanded service will be $16.45, or <br />95 cents more than the current rate' <br />of $15.50. Basic -rate subscribers'. <br />will see a small decrease in .their <br />rates. Subscribers who currently. <br />pay , $12.26, will pay 5 cents less <br />June 1. <br />James Foody, general. manager <br />of TO Cablevision of the Treasure <br />Coast, said the largest contributor: <br />to cable rate hikes has been the in-: <br />creased cost of programming. <br />Expanded service costs more. <br />because it provides expensive pro- <br />gramming, like ESPN. <br />Expenses like player salary in- <br />creases trickle down to cable com- <br />panies, Foody said. <br />"First it costs the guy watching <br />the event in the stands but eventu-. <br />ally it reaches the guy sitting at' <br />home," he said. "We're the end <br />provider." <br />In reference to the above newspaper article concerning TCI's rate increase, Vice <br />Chairman Macht stated he had a big objection to paying this increase. He thought there <br />should be a separate channel charge and that the general viewers should not be saddled with <br />paying the salaries of high-priced athletes. <br />County Attorney Vitunac advised that next March there will be no more regulations <br />on telecommunications, NATOA, of which we are a member, is revisiting the issue again <br />with Senate help. There is such an uproar from the people, that the matter is going to be <br />looked at again at NATOA. <br />May 12, 1998 <br />IP 0 <br />