Thames Valley Communications Fighting to Keep Rates Down

Thames Valley Communications Fighting to Keep Rates Down

GROTON, CT – March 27, 2014 – Thames Valley Communications (TVC) is in final negotiations with Viacom, owner of MTV Networks, to continue offering their channels.   TVC is fighting, on behalf of its customers, against the large increases requested by Viacom in an effort to keep cable rates low.

MTV Networks provides cable TV channels such as MTV, BET, and Nickelodeon. 

TVC is an independent business located in Groton, offering Cable TV, Internet and phone throughout Groton, Stonington, Mystic, Pawcatuck and Gales Ferry and employing over 40 people.

While TVC hopes and expects to maintain carriage of these networks, carriage of these networks could be at risk if TVC does not reach a new agreement by March 31.  TVC wants to notify customers in an effort to be open about our discussions. TVC has produced a new website, www.TVOnMySide.com, to keep our community up to date on trends in programming costs, and we welcome customer feedback at this site.

“Across the country, programmers are dramatically increasing their fees to cable companies, especially small operators like TVC” explained CEO Bill Pearson. “Our customers should note that TVC has not had a rate increase since we acquired the system, unlike Comcast who has recently raised rates.  We want our customers to know that we are fighting extremely hard to negotiate lower fees from the programmers, so we won’t be faced with having to pass along the increases.  Imagine pulling up to the gas pump and finding gas has gone from $3.50 a gallon to $10.00 –overnight. That’s the scale of some of these large increases demanded by the programmers. Our goal is to protect our customers from these significant programming fee increases.  We would hope that our customers remain patient, and stay united with us through this fight.  And please remember, we have numerous comparable channels for you to watch.”

We urge our customers to get the facts and be informed by visiting www.TVOnMyside.com.

About TVC

TVC is a cable TV, Internet and phone provider, serving Gales Ferry, Groton, Mystic, Stonington and Pawcatuck. Since TVC was acquired from the City of Groton in February 2013, TVC has invested heavily to improve products and services, and make TVC a strong competitive alternative to Comcast. Upgrades have included adding a large Video on Demand system as well as vastly improving Internet speeds, which are faster and less expensive than the competitor’s comparable offers. The result of these efforts are paying off, as TVC is growing subscribers and delivering extremely high customer satisfaction levels.  More information on the company is available at www.TVCconnect.com.

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