Book Description

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on cable television rates and services. GAO found that: (1) in 1989, cable rates and services continued to increase; (2) there was little change in the extent to which services offered as options at extra charge in 1988 were being offered as part of basic service in 1989; (3) rates for premium services have decreased slightly since deregulation, for both individual services and combinations of premium channels; (4) from 1986 to 1989, to cable operators' average revenue per subscriber increased 21 percent, and in 1989, revenues per subscriber increased about 5 percent; (5) total cable subscriptions have increased by 22 percent since deregulation, and the number of homes that can access cable has grown by 14 percent; (6) 53 percent of cable systems have changed ownership since 1985; and (7) proposals would either directly subject all cable systems to some type of rate regulation or redefine effective competition in such a way that more cable systems would become subject to regulation.