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CNN Live At Daybreak

Senate Commerce Committee to Grill Cable Companies

Aired May 06, 2003 - 06:16   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now. The cable guys are going to Washington to talk about sports.
Susan Lisovicz live in New York with that and more.

Good morning -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I have a question for you.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Have you ever noticed that your cable rates have risen faster than any other bill in your household?

COSTELLO: Yes, except the phone bill.

LISOVICZ: Except the phone bills.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LISOVICZ: You have big long distance bills, Carol.

But for most people, cable bills have risen -- they've just skyrocketed. The annual inflation rate is about 1.5 percent. Since 1996, basic cable service has risen 50 percent. So Washington noticed -- yes, it's outrageous. And today they're expected to be grilled. That is cable companies expected to be grilled by the Senate Commerce Committee.

Now cable companies say that they're just merely passing on these skyrocketing programming costs, especially from sports networks. All those multimillionaire athletes and those big contracts, they have to pass it along.

What they're expected to propose is that channels like ESPN and Fox Sports be made into premium channels like HBO and Showtime. Needless to say, the sports channels may not like it because that reduces their ad revenue and their audiences. So look out for some interesting testimony in Washington that can affect you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, and hopefully the consumer will win this time.

A quick...

LISOVICZ: Well the consumers say we've been losing, that's for sure,...

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

LISOVICZ: ... the consumer advocates.

COSTELLO: Quick look at the futures before you go.

LISOVICZ: Futures higher. We had kind of a mixed day yesterday. The Dow was down 51 points, the Nasdaq just up 1. But the trend has been very good and a lot of folks are saying we are in to a new bull market. The three major indices up for the year.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, it's kind of good news.

Thank you, Susan Lisovicz, we'll catch you in a little bit.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM AT www.fdch.com






Aired May 6, 2003 - 06:16   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Time for a little business buzz right now. The cable guys are going to Washington to talk about sports.
Susan Lisovicz live in New York with that and more.

Good morning -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. I have a question for you.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LISOVICZ: Have you ever noticed that your cable rates have risen faster than any other bill in your household?

COSTELLO: Yes, except the phone bill.

LISOVICZ: Except the phone bills.

COSTELLO: Yes.

LISOVICZ: You have big long distance bills, Carol.

But for most people, cable bills have risen -- they've just skyrocketed. The annual inflation rate is about 1.5 percent. Since 1996, basic cable service has risen 50 percent. So Washington noticed -- yes, it's outrageous. And today they're expected to be grilled. That is cable companies expected to be grilled by the Senate Commerce Committee.

Now cable companies say that they're just merely passing on these skyrocketing programming costs, especially from sports networks. All those multimillionaire athletes and those big contracts, they have to pass it along.

What they're expected to propose is that channels like ESPN and Fox Sports be made into premium channels like HBO and Showtime. Needless to say, the sports channels may not like it because that reduces their ad revenue and their audiences. So look out for some interesting testimony in Washington that can affect you -- Carol.

COSTELLO: Yes, and hopefully the consumer will win this time.

A quick...

LISOVICZ: Well the consumers say we've been losing, that's for sure,...

COSTELLO: Absolutely.

LISOVICZ: ... the consumer advocates.

COSTELLO: Quick look at the futures before you go.

LISOVICZ: Futures higher. We had kind of a mixed day yesterday. The Dow was down 51 points, the Nasdaq just up 1. But the trend has been very good and a lot of folks are saying we are in to a new bull market. The three major indices up for the year.

COSTELLO: OK. Well, it's kind of good news.

Thank you, Susan Lisovicz, we'll catch you in a little bit.

LISOVICZ: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM AT www.fdch.com