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Big Ten Network buys 1000 student for the State-Pennsylvania State men's basketball game to support The Pennsylvania State IFC/Panhellenic Dance Marathon (THON). The idea behind this by Big Ten Network is to bring 10,000 students on Tuesday, Jan. 29, contest to help the Pennsylvania State Athletic Department. The proceeds of ticket sales done by schools of the Michigan State game on Saturday, Feb. 2 will go to THON with a condition that they have to sell 10,000 student tickets.

Comcast cable customers in Colorado can expect to see their monthly cable bills increase by about 4% beginning March 1. Last year customers who subscribed to cable only services saw an increase of about 7% on their monthly bill. An increase of 11% in 2 years. It would seem that in Colorado, as in other regions of the U.S. the rising cost of cable is fast outpacing the rate of inflation. Comcast customers in Colorado are not alone in seeing a new  increase in their bills. It seems Comcast has been raising or soon will be raising their rates for their cable service by varing percentages in many areas across the country.

Nowadays it seems as if "cable only" customers are the main source of income for the cable companies. Whether it's Comcast, Time Warner or Charter to name just a few. It appears that while cable rates are on the rise once again, only those who subscrtibe to cable only  services are feeling the pain of once again shelling out more money for cable tv. Apparently those customer who "bundle: their services (phone,internet and cable) are not  currently expected to see any increase in their bills for their phone or internet service. Why is that? Is the quality of phone or internet service provided by these companies lacking in some areas?. Do you think that the only  way people will subscribe to these additional services is if the cable companies practically give them  away? Perhaps  research has shown that phone and internet service would not generate copious amount of cash if they were marketed as stand alone products.  Maybe some companies have no problem taking a loss by bundling their services together.  Who knows the real reason cable companies have for not raising  rates on all the services they provide at the same time those . Why does it seem to always be just the cable rate that's always increasing at such an alarming rate. Perhaps it's because  the real cash cow in the cable industry has and will probably always be the cable tv customer. After all cable companies origanlly started out providing "cable only" service.  That's where most of their money originally came from. Those profits generated over the course of many years are I'm sure what  has allowed cable companies to branch out into other areas.

Comcast is looking to generate $500 million in new revenue so that they can provide regional upgrades and new products. With the recent flood of rate increases throughout the country I have to ask myself what region are they talking about. The U.S. is made up of 5 regions. They are:Northeast,Southeast, Midwest,Southwest and West. Is Comcast looking to generate $500 million in each individual region or is the total they are seeking a combinaton of all 5. You can surely understand why I'm confused about which region their talking about specifically.  Is Comcast using the money from rate increases to customers in the Northeast to pay for upgrades in the other regions of the country.

When I see companies posting huge profits  for their yearly earning earnings I have to wonder how they can justify constant increases for their services to their customers. According to Comcast their constant rate increases reflects the "value of their service" to their customers.  From comments I've read on line I suspect that a good number customers feel that a decrease in their bill would best reflect the value of service Comcast gives to their  subscribers.

Comcast cable subscribers in Vancouver,Washington. probably won't be surprised to see a rate increase in their cable bill beginning Mar.1. This increase is after all the fifth one in five years. According to an article in The Columbian the average increase will be about 3.6%. Folks in Clark County who subscribe to Comcast's Starter Digital Package can expect to see a rate hike of 6.8%. While most everyone will be subjected to the increases there is one exception. Those subscribers who have only the most basic cable package will see a decrease in their monthly bill. Basic cable will drop from $13.72 to $12.58 per month which is a savings of $1.14 per month or $13.68 over the course of a year. 

Election Night coverage by Dan Rather will report on the primary results in St. Petersburg, Florida on January 29 at 8:00 p.m on HDNet. "Dan Rather Reports on Politics - The Florida Primary" Live program will be covered from the Miller Auditorium at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. Republican Mike Murphy and Democrat Donald Fowler will join Dan Rather giving analysis and results of the election.

On February 17, 2009 all off-air antenna broadcasts will be digital because of this Satellite TV will not be affected as Satellite TV is 100% digital as of today and years to come. As switch from analog signals to digital will require Digital TV, National Telecommunications and Information Administration(NTIA), Meredith Atwell said that Digital TV converter boxes will be available for sale from February 18,2008. Satellite TV provides receivers and could be connected to any television even with old analog TVs as Satellite TV's broadcast is 100% digital.

Comcast subscribers in the Philadelphia  area can expect an increase in their cable bills this year. This is the second increase in just two years. The average amount for expanded basic cable service will be about 3.8%  this year which is slightly higher than last year.  Subscribers in Lower Bucks County will see about a 4.8% increase in their monthly bill while those in Delaware County will see an average increase of 5%. In sharp contrast some Comcast customers in the Cherry Hill area will see their bill skyrocket by as much as 14%. Seems as if the ever increasing price of cable  in Philadelphia and other areas of the country is fast outpacing the rate of inflation.

According to company spokesman Jeff Alexander the rate hike in Philadelphia is justified  because it will help tp pay for $500 million in sytem upgrades and new products.  What are these so called new upgrades and products. Why doesn't Comcast dip into their huge profits to help defray the costs. It would seem that Comcast has conviently forgetten who helped them and their investor to realize their mega profits. I think that Comcast should step up to the plate and reward their customers for their constant loyalty to them as their cable subscriber by giving them a decrease in their bill rather than an increase. 

Satellite TV announced on Wednesday, January 23rd, that local HD programming is now available to subscribers in the Tyler-Longview, Texas and Knoxville, Tenn. areas. In Tyler-Longview, KLTV/ABC and KYTX/CBS will both be available in HD, while the Knoxville rollout includes WATE/ABC, WVLT/CBS, WTNZ/FOX and WBIR/NBC. This is great news. To receive high-def programming from Satellite TV, customers must have an H20 or H21 HD receiver or an HR20 or HR21 Satellite TV Plus HD DVR and a Ka/Ku band dish.

Beginning March 1st Comcast subscribers in the Portland area will see an increase in their cable bill.  Comcast has announced that the new rates for standard cable will increase by  nearly 7 percent. The standard cable package which has 70 channels will increase by $3.51 bringing the new rate to $54.40. The low end or cheapest digital cable  package will increase by 6.8% which will brings the monthly amount to $55.40. Finally the digital premier package will now cost the subscriber $119.99 per month. Roughly a 6.2% increase. These seem to be some sizeable increases.

While customers might feel these rates excessive Comcast does not. They  state that the increase reflects the value of services they provide.  For myself the "value of services" Comcast provides should mean that I would receive a lot more channels for my money.