Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 2824 25 www.htcinc.net | Winter 2017 Winter 2017 | www.htcinc.net GET A COURTSIDE CONNECTION Thanks to HTC Digital Cable Lights, Camera … Money? How major TV networks affect your cable costs As cable rates continue to steadily rise, people start to wonder where their money is going — and rightfully so. As your local provider, we here at HTC make every effort to be transparent about cost. You are our neighbors and friends — that’s why we want to give you an inside look so you can better understand the economics of cable TV. Rising costs stem from changing contractual obligations with networks for the right to offer their programs on HTC cable lineups. In other words, HTC must pay all programmers monthly for each subscriber’s channel. It’s that time of the year, basketball fans! Get ready to get riled up, because TV Everywhere from HTC Digital Cable is your all-access pass to March Madness. At home or on the go, you are never far from the action with TV Everywhere. Get access to LIVE games on your TV, computer, tablet or smartphone — now that is a slam dunk. Log into the NCAA March Madness App with your HTC Digital Cable TV Everywhere username to enjoy unlimited access to live-streaming video of all 67 games on TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. Learn more at www.htcinc.net/digital-cable today! How is HTC negotiating on my behalf? Networks try to pressure you, the consumer, to switch providers in order to get us to agree to their demands. But the fact is that ALL TV providers face this same problem. That’s because it’s the TV provider that cares about keeping you as a customer and is working to keep your bill low — not the network.  Put simply: HTC would never selfishly up-charge on cable — rising costs are due to outside factors beyond our control. Here at HTC, it’s our job to fight these powerful media conglomerates on your behalf in order to keep fees as low as possible. One way we do this is through membership in the National Cable Television Cooperative, a collective that allows us to negotiate and gain the cost benefits that the larger cable providers have while still enabling us to provide the benefits of hometown service to our customers. Despite the rising costs, there are still major benefits to sticking with digital cable service from HTC. First and foremost, keeping cable through a bundle with HTC allows for a lower rate on your internet service. There are many factors to consider when sizing up what’s right for you and your family — the best thing you can do is research and learn as much as you can on the topic. Visit www.tvonmyside.com to learn how HTC is fighting for fair fees and lower cable rates for our members, how programming fees affect your cable bill, and more. We know you want a good value — we do, too. We live and work here with you, and will continue working diligently to get networks to offer their shows to you on YOUR terms, not theirs. What exactly are cable rate increases? Rates are driven by programming license fees, as each individual channel and program has its own associated costs. Programmers often demand extreme annual rate increases — in many cases, every year. But why do cable rates go up? The number that fluctuates most is the programming cost. Expenses paid to programmers and broadcasters are the single largest cable cost and directly impact cable pricing. All satellite and cable providers (like HTC) pay each network and broadcaster a monthly fee for every household that receives a particular channel — and amounts being charged are on the rise. So, who gets to decide the rates? Most people know that major media conglomerates own a large segment of TV channels, but it may come as a surprise that approximately 90 percent of the networks carried on the HTC lineup are owned and controlled by just nine media conglomerates. It’s daunting to think about how much power they can leverage, but important to recognize how this affects you individually. These media companies lump their programming together, forcing cable providers like HTC to carry lightly-viewed channels in order to also offer their more popular ones, in addition to often requiring these channels to be carried in the most popular packages. Today, programming expenses that HTC is forced to pay large video providers to carry the channels you love account for over 80 cents of each dollar you spend on video packages. Take sports programming, for example. The creation of new sports networks, like the SEC Network from ESPN, essentially repackages many games that were already on various sports networks, and then funnels them into one network. Subscribers want these new networks and often don’t understand that they will ultimately pay more for them. GET A COURTSIDE CONNECTION