Business

Cable bills to pass $200 a month by 2020: industry forecast

Move over, $5 a gallon gas — America’s new household budget buster may soon be the $200 a month cable bill.

While wages for US workers have remained stagnant, cable bills have quietly climbed 6 percent a year and will pass $200 a month by 2020, according to an alarming industry forecast released yesterday.

“As pay-TV costs rise and consumers’ spending power stays flat, the traditional affiliate-fee business model for pay-TV companies appears to be unsustainable,” said Keith Nissen, research director at research firm NPD Group, which issued the forecast.

NPD blamed the TV price-spiral on a perennial tug-of-war between cable operators and creators of programming over who gets the bigger share of ever-rising cable payments.

Steadily rising cable bills, the report said, are spawning a new backlash and outright revolt by tens of thousands of consumers who’ve already cut the cable cord.

About 9 percent of TV homes cut cable from their household budget in 2011 — opting to watch shows online, while another 11 percent planned to do so, said a report from Deloitte in January.

“Cable faces big challenges on how to stay relevant,” said NPD analyst Russ Crupnick.

“One way or another, people will be spending much more in the future on entertainment,” he said.

Currently, households spend an average $86 monthly for basic and premium cable offerings — not counting Internet or phone service, said the NPD report.

That’s expected to climb to $123 by 2015 — and then hit $200 a month by 2020, the report said.

Rivals offering broadband and online options for providing video to homes include Netflix, Amazon video and iTunes, among many others.

“Other options aren’t going to be free, either,” said Crupnick.