Controls Urged on Rising Cable TV Fees : Utilities: Since deregulation in 1984, basic rates have jumped 64% among the county’s 15 franchised firms, a survey finds.

Soaring cable television rates and a confusing maze of add-on charges by cable companies in Ventura County have prompted new calls for regulation of prices charged to the public.

Several top local officials, frustrated by their lack of leverage with cable companies, say they support a revived nationwide effort to gain control of cable charges.

“These are semi-monopolistic operations, and I think some control is absolutely necessary,” Moorpark Mayor Paul Lawrason said. “We’re rewriting our congressmen. I think we’re building up a little pressure, and it’s about time.”

Ojai Councilwoman Nina Shelley agreed: “It’s a slap in the face to end up with the rates we have.”

And Alex Fiore, a Thousand Oaks councilman, told a federal regulatory commission last year that his community is a “captive audience” that cannot pick up clear broadcast signals and needs to have a say in cable prices.

Since prices were deregulated by Congress in 1984, the cost of basic cable service has surged 64% in Ventura County, twice as fast as other consumer prices, a Times survey showed.

The costs of the most popular cable package of programs, which has an average of 34 channels, have risen even more. And extra charges for installation, second outlets, converter boxes and remote controls are now common and increasingly expensive.

The survey found that some local companies charge much more than others for similar services, but do not have to account to any public official for the price disparity.

For example, Century Cable, a 15,000-customer franchise in Ventura, charges $26.90 for its 40-channel satellite package, 43% more than the average for the county’s 15 franchises.

Century also charges more than any other franchise for a cable connection to a second television, $14.90 per extra outlet compared to a countywide average of $5.32. And its charges are relatively high for other services.

Steve Weingardt, general manager at Century, said he did not know why his charges were so comparatively high, though he said Century may be making more improvements to its system than the other companies.

“We’ve incurred significant costs to expand our system and making it more reliable,” he said. “That’s how we arrived at what we charge.”

Ventura Mayor Richard Francis said he has lobbied for returning control of cable rates to local government and is bothered by the high prices in his city.

“But without that authority, I’m not going to bang my head against a wall,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do about it.”

Local cable companies say they have shown their responsiveness to customers’ needs by offering special reduced-price “lifeline” cable services. Six of nine companies that operate in Ventura County have a discounted rate.

But the two companies with 60% of the county’s customers--Ventura County Cablevision and Comcast--do not routinely tell potential customers about the less-profitable lower rates, telephone calls to salespersons indicate.

Art Maulsby of Comcast in Simi Valley said he was not surprised that a salesperson did not mention the company’s $10.95 bargain rate when asked the price of basic service.

“The term basic is ambiguous. You would have to ask for our basic antenna service,” he said. Instead, an $18.50 rate is quoted, because “that’s the service we feature.” Maulsby would not say how many customers have signed up for the $10.95 service since it was announced last year.

Diane Blanco, a marketing supervisor for Cablevision, said she could not explain why three salespeople all failed to mentioned the company’s $12.95 bargain rate. They should have, she said.

About 200 of Cablevision’s 74,561 customers receive the $12.95 service implemented in 1990, rather than the company’s $16.90 satellite package, she said.

By contrast, Avenue Cable in Ventura has offered a so-called lifeline rate for many years, and 55% of its customers pay only the $13 fee, General Manager Steve George said. About 40% of Century’s customers in Ventura pay only the company’s $15.95 bargain rate, Weingardt said.

Industry spokesmen acknowledge that many cable companies nationwide have introduced the lifeline rates during the last year or two in response to a renewed effort in Congress to regulate cable prices. Critics say the new services are for public relations purposes and are not actively sold.

Complaints about cable rates--and claims by cities and consumer advocates of excessive profits--have fueled a two-year congressional debate over whether prices should be regulated anew.

The National League of Cities, the National Assn. of Counties and the Consumer Federation of America are calling for more price control. Two weeks ago, consumer advocate Ralph Nader, describing the cable industry as an “unregulated tollbooth,” announced a nationwide campaign for re-regulation.

Nader argues that the lifting of price controls freed a monopoly industry to overcharge customers, and it has. He cites a study by the consumer federation that says the $20-billion annual revenues of the cable industry are twice as high as they would be if effective competition existed.

Cable companies compete in only 45 of the nation’s 9,400 franchise areas, according to the industry.

Local cable company managers said they could not discuss the profitability of their companies, most of which are subsidiaries of some of the nation’s largest cable firms.

But John Wolfe, spokesman for the National Cable Television Assn., said Friday that deregulation in 1984 was the best thing that could have happened for the cable television customer.

Prices have jumped since then because rates were kept artificially low by cities, Wolfe said.

“What the city officials won’t tell you is that for the 14 years prior to deregulation, cable rates ran 72% behind the rate of inflation,” he said. “Congress deregulated cable rates because city officials’ primary concern was with holding prices down, not the quality of cable service.

“Customers today have more choice in programming than offered anywhere else in the world,” he said. “That wouldn’t have happened without deregulation.”

Nor are claims of price gouging justified, Wolfe said. The cable industry has the lowest return on investment of any of the media industries, he said, citing a study that reports only a 5.5% return to cable companies in 1989.

Local cable managers said their companies have invested millions of dollars in recent years to rebuild old systems that, in some cases, relied on obsolete coaxial military cables to transmit signals.

Jones Intercable, which has the Oxnard and Port Hueneme franchise, has spent about $3 million in two years on upgrades, according to General Manager John Hutton. Major improvements in cable reception and program variety also have been made in Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, Simi Valley and Ventura, local officials said.

Overall, complaints about picture quality and selection have dropped significantly since the mid-1980s, according to city officials. The cities, though powerless to control prices, still have authority to award franchises and monitor service.

Customer satisfaction in Thousand Oaks was measured recently in a city survey. Conducted for franchise hearings this fall, the poll found that 78% of Ventura County Cablevision’s customers felt they were getting their money’s worth. About 60% of Falcon Cable’s Thousand Oaks customers agreed. Those ratings compare with a 70% average nationwide, the industry reports.

Still, the cable companies’ freedom to hike prices indiscriminately bothers many local officials.

“Cable television is really a utility, but unlike other utilities, it’s prices are not regulated,” said county Public Works Director Art Goulet, whose department oversees cable franchises in unincorporated areas.

“The problem is that if you can’t regulate rates, you don’t have any real clout when it comes to insisting on quality service. You can’t hold out on a rate increase until a company shapes up,” Goulet said. “The federal government did a disservice to the subscriber when it deregulated cable.”

Moorpark Mayor Lawrason said he came to the same conclusion early this spring, after the cable company in the new Mountain Meadows subdivision abruptly announced a rate increase that quickly became a bitter controversy.

Residents of the fashionable 1,500-house tract were informed March 1 that beginning in a month they would be charged $3.60 for each active television outlet in their homes. A per-outlet charge is now standard in the cable industry.

But furious Mountain Meadows residents said they had been double-crossed by Urban West Communities of Santa Monica, which built their new houses and was granted the cable franchise for them.

The homeowners said they had been encouraged to install numerous television outlets when they bought their houses and had been promised by Urban West that they would never be charged extra for using them. Some installed 10 outlets. They paid $60 each for most of them, but figured that was a bargain since they would not be charged a monthly fee for their use.

“They told us, ‘You will pay a flat fee forever,’ ” said Janet Anderson, who bought a house in 1987 and installed six outlets. “Now I feel like I’m being ripped off. I was sold one bill of goods, and now they’re saying something else. I was lied to.”

The homeowners took the case to Lawrason and the rest of the Moorpark City Council, only to discover that the city had no power to control cable charges.

“I’ve sat across the table from (cable officials) two or three times now, and each time I’ve had a real sense of lack of leverage in dealing with them,” said the frustrated mayor.

Urban West and Entertainment Express Ltd., the two-employee San Francisco company that operates the Mountain Meadows cable franchise, have backed away from the new fee, but say they are determined to implement it eventually.

Tom Zanic, an Urban West vice president, said he is not sure what promises have been made to buyers of his company’s houses since sales began in 1984.

“That was some time ago,” he said. “But the perceptions of our homeowners are important to us and we want to think about that very carefully before we take any final action.”

At last word, said neighborhood association President Patti Smith, the new charge was set to begin Jan. 1. For some residents, that would mean their current $17.50 monthly bill would more than double if they used all their outlets.

“After dealing with this, I’m ready to join a cause to get these cable companies regulated again,” Smith said. “It’s absolutely crazy what they can get away with.”

CABLE TELEVISION COST COMPARISON

Basic Satellite Service Service Extra Cable Install Mo. Cost/ Mo. Cost/ Satellite Community Company Fee Channels Channels Outlet Bell Cyn. Century $84.00 None $21.25 $3.76 49 Ch. Box Cyn. Hidden Hills $45.00 None $18.00 $5.00 38 Ch. Camarillo Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 (West) 17 Ch. 41 Ch. Camarillo Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 (East) 17 Ch. 29 Ch. Fillmore Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 15 Ch. 28 Ch. Moorpark Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 15 Ch. 28 Ch. Moorpark Entertainment $44.95 None $17.50 Free Express 33 Ch. Ojai Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 13 Ch. 28 Ch. Oxnard Jones $29.95 $16.00 $20.95 $7.90 28 Ch. 43 Ch. Santa Paula Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 15 Ch. 28 Ch. Simi Valley Comcast $49.95 $10.95 $18.50 $3.55 13 Ch. 30 Ch. Thous. Oaks Cablevision $44.95 $12.95 $16.90 $4.00 15 Ch. 28 Ch. Thous. Oaks Falcon $49.95 $13.95 $16.95 $4.00 18 Ch. 29 Ch. Ventura Century $60.00 $15.95 $26.90 $14.90 12 Ch. 40 Ch. Ventura Avenue $32.00 $13.00 $23.45 $12.70 12 Ch. 36 Ch. COUNTY AVG. $47.36 $13.38 $18.79 $5.32 16 Ch. 34 Ch.

Premium Basic Movie Service Community Channels 1983 Bell Cyn. $12.65- $8.00 $14.65 12 Ch. Box Cyn. $10.00- NA $14.00 Camarillo $9.95- $9.45 (West) $11.95 22 Ch. Camarillo $ 9.95- $7.45 (East) $11.95 9 Ch. Fillmore $ 9.95- $9.00 $11.95 12 Ch. Moorpark $ 9.95- $8.50 $11.95 26 Ch. Moorpark $11.95 $8.90 12 Ch. Ojai $ 9.95- $10.00 $11.95 21 Ch. Oxnard $ 7.95- $9.00 $10.95 14 Ch. Santa Paula $ 9.95- $7.50 $11.95 17 Ch. Simi Valley $10.95- $ 8.00 $11.95 12 Ch. Thous. Oaks $ 9.95- $ 9.00 $11.95 26 Ch. Thous. Oaks $10.50 $9.50 12 Ch. Ventura $7.00- $7.50 $9.95 12 Ch. Ventura $ 9.40- $8.40 $12.55 14 Ch. COUNTY AVG. $10.00- $8.59 $12.01 16 Ch.

Notes:

1. Ventura County Cablevision’s satellite rate increases to $17.95 monthly on June 1.

2. In Bell Canyon, Century charges an additional $52.50 for installation of a 2nd outlet and $26.25 for a 3rd.

3. In Box Canyon, Hidden Hills Cable has received a county franchise but not yet begun service.

4. In Moorpark, Entertainment Express Ltd. has announced a $3.60 fee for each extra outlet, beginning Jan. 1992. Company began operation in 1984.

5. In Oxnard and Port Hueneme, add $3.45 to Jones Intercable basic satellite charge per outlet for remote if customer TV remote is not programmable. Forty percent of customers rent remote.

6 In Thousand Oaks, Falcon charges $25.00 for installation of each extra outlet. Installation of non-satellite service is $65.

7. In Ventura, Avenue Cable charges $10 for installation of a 2nd outlet and Century charges $15 per extra outlet.