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Telecommunications: Impact of Sports Programming Costs on Cable Television Rates

RCED-99-136 Published: Jun 22, 1999. Publicly Released: Jul 16, 1999.
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Highlights

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on the impact of sports programming costs on cable television rates, focusing on: (1) the extent to which sports programming costs are contributing to higher cable television rates; (2) how prices paid for sports programming differ for small and large cable operators; (3) the extent to which sports programmers require cable operators to bundle sports programming with other cable programming and how this practice affects cable rates; and (4) whether the salaries of players in major professional sports have risen over the last 4 years, and if so, whether this has contributed to increases in cable rates.

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Telecommunications
Cable televisionComparative analysisCost controlCable ratesPrices and pricingSportsTelecommunications industryTelevision programmingTelevisionAdvertising