Time Warner Cable was the only major pay-TV company to reduce the price of basic cable TV over the past four years, a new report out Monday has found.
The New York cable company reduced the advertised price of TV service by 2.5 percent between 2009 and 2013, according to Free Press, a group aimed at changing media and technology policy.
Meanwhile, Comcast, which moved in April to buy TWC for $45 billion, raised its advertised basic TV rates by 68 percent over the same period, according to the Washington, DC, group, which is part of a campaign to torpedo the mega-deal.
The FCC is in the process of judging whether that acquisition is in the public interest.
Free Press figures look at non-promotional rates.
Most cable companies sell their basic cable through bundles that also include voice and broadband access.
When Free Press compared the increase on a premium package, Comcast’s prices rose 21 percent, while TWC’s rose 17 percent.