Watching your favorite shows on Comcast cable TV is about to get a bit more expensive in the next few weeks.
Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, said Thursday that it will be raising its monthly cable prices by an average of 3.1 percent starting in February.
The company, which markets its cable, broadband and phone services under the Xfinity brand, also said that beginning Thursday, it moved Turner Classic Movies from its Digital Starter package to its more expensive Digital Preferred tier. For Digital Starter customers, that would mean a monthly increase of $18 now and nearly $22 come February to watch their favorite older movies commercial-free.
Comcast made a similar change in December with the Great American Country channel, but there have been no other changes in the channel lineup, Comcast spokesman Dave Nyberg said.
Nyberg said the majority of Comcast customers buy multiple services, so the actual percentage increase each customer will see next month will differ. And Comcast customers who are paying discount promotional prices will not see an increase for their services.
Climbing cable rates have become almost an annual event. Cable companies like Comcast lately have faced rising costs of highly sought programming, such as sports, and falling numbers of subscribers, some of whom are cutting the cord and watching TV and movies on Internet alternatives like Hulu and Netflix.
