"It’s probably no surprise that pay-​TV packages are more expensive this year than in 2018, reports Consumer Reports. Prices rise every year. But you might be surprised at the size of the increase once you get your bill."

"Advertised rates generally climb 3 to 4% annually, but so do the add-​on charges, such as 'broadcast TV fees' and 'regional sports fees.'”

"Those cable TV fees aren’t featured prominently in promotional materials, and it’s hard to know what you’ll really be paying up front even if you call to negotiate a better deal. We’ve gathered information on 2019 pricing for most of the major cable TV providers, below."

"Cable companies told Consumer Reports that price hikes are driven mainly by their rising costs for carrying broadcast networks, such as CBS and Fox, plus regional sports channels. According to some analyst estimates, these costs have climbed between 8 and 10% in each of the past four years."

Increased costs can take their toll on frugal Cable Television Subscribers. According to AudienceSCAN, 32% of these viewers have the personal goal to increase their savings this year. Within the past month, 41.1% have used the internet to find coupons or discount codes and, within the last six months, 25.8% have used a mobile device to redeem or download a coupon. Last year, 41.7% took action after seeing ads on daily deal sites such as Groupon and 22.1% usually make buying decisions based on which coupons they have.

“'With declines in subscribers, increased programming costs are a real issue for pay-​TV providers, as any increase in cost cannot be made up for by expanding the subscriber base,' says Bruce Leichtman, president and principal analyst at Leichtman Research Group."

"If costs are rising, why not just raise the advertised prices? According to a 2017 report by the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau, TV providers use the fees to cover rising costs while pulling in consumers with lower advertised prices."

"The price hikes are helping to fuel cord cutting, as consumers drop traditional TV plans in favor of streaming options and antennas. In the third quarter of 2018, traditional TV providers lost about 1.1 million subscribers, the largest quarterly loss ever, according to the research firm MoffettNathanson."

Television services offering cheaper viewing options can promote their offerings to Cable Television Subscribers both digitally and via traditional advertising media. Last year, according to AudienceSCAN, these viewers took action after receiving email ads (44.6%), seeing ads on their mobile smartphone app or receiving ads via text (37.8%) and clicking on text link ads on websites (33.7%). In that same amount of time, 59.3% were driven to action by TV commercials, 44.9% took action after seeing a newspaper ad and 31.5% were prompted to action by outdoor ads.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.