Wednesday, June 30, 1999
Time Warner cuts prices to compete in Lebanon
Residents also offered digital TV
BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON — The battle for the city's cable customers turned up a notch Tuesday with Time Warner announcing it will offer digital service and drop prices up to 34 percent.
The move comes four months after the city introduced its telecommunications system and began offering cheaper service to residents.
As of Thursday, Time Warner's prices will be equal to the city's, with basic service at $5.99 and standard service at $20.98.
Lebanon residents will be the first of Time Warner's 350,000 customers in southern Ohio to receive the digital service, which offers a clearer picture and sound and can be received on regular TVs. It will be available Tuesday and at the same price as basic or standard service.
The lower prices and new service, aimed at keeping Time Warner competitive with the city, won't woo back Indian Mound Road resident Dana Perkins.
She switched this year to the city because of its lower rates. Mrs. Perkins said Tuesday she plans to stick with the municipal system.
“We want to keep our money here in Lebanon,” she said.
Jim Baldwin, Lebanon's deputy director of telecommunications, said the announcement proves what the city has argued: “Cable operators have a monopoly, and when they're presented with competition, they can lower the prices.
“The winners are the residents of Lebanon.”
Time Warner argues it is forced to compete with a city to which it also must pay franchise fees. In 1998, the company paid $85,000 in fees, according to Jennifer Mooney, vice president of public affairs for the Cincinnati division.
The company has about 3,000 customers in the Lebanon area. Ms. Mooney would not comment on whether the company has lost or gained customers since the city-owned system went on line.
But Mr. Baldwin estimates about 80 percent of the 2,900 customers who signed up for city service formerly subscribed to Time Warner. The city has 735 homes hooked up.
His target by the end of the year: 3,400 customers.
In Wadsworth, the only other Ohio city with its own cable system, Time Warner dropped its prices by up to $15 a month to match the city's rate.
Only about 20 cities in the country operate their own cable systems, although industry experts have said other communities may follow. They are watching to see how well Lebanon competes with Time Warner, which serves more than 1.5 million customers in Ohio.
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