UCI Housing Network and Cable TV Issues

After receiving the email about the price for an HBO subscription (see here), I sent an email to Kevin Ansel, the housing director responsible for the cable TV, asking for clarification on the statement "This averages out to $13 per month for the HBO services, which is comparable to local cable company services", which clearly is not true.
Here is the email thread:

My first email to Mr. Ansel:

Mr. Ansel,

I recently received the email below from the Palo Verde Housing office, regarding the pricing for an HBO subscription.
I assume that the PV Housing office just conveyed to the PV residents information they received from you, hence my email goes to you.
I am taking issue with the assertion that the subscription fee for HBO is comparable to the HBO fees that local cable companies charge.
According to the Cox Cable website, Cox charges $9.25/month for 7 (seven!) HBO channels. I therefore consider the $13/month for 1 HBO channel as excessive. To me, this looks as if CampusTelevideo takes advantage of their monopoly position. In other words, I consider this price gouging.

Regards,
-Joachim Feise

<the original email clipped, see here for a copy.>

His answer:

Joachim,

CampusTeleVideo is charging $52 a quarter or roughly $5 a week for HBO.

For COX you would also need a digital box which would cost you an additional $7.50 a month. So that works out to $16.75 a month for HBO. Cox is not offering 1 HBO channel to its analog customers anymore. So you can not make the same comparison of our service to Cox.

The group can discuss this issue when we meet.

Kevin

************************
<copy of my original email clipped>

The meeting he mentions has to do with the cable contact group.
My answer:

Kevin Ansel wrote on 2/10/2005 12:34:

> Joachim,
>
>
> CampusTeleVideo is charging $52 a quarter or roughly $5 a week for HBO.
>
> For COX you would also need a digital box which would cost you an additional
> $7.50 a month. So that works out to $16.75 a month for HBO. Cox is not
> offering 1 HBO channel to its analog customers anymore. So you can not make
> the same comparison of our service to Cox.

Even with $16.75/month at Cox, that would be for 7 channels, which comes to roughly $2.40 for 1 channel per month. Still much cheaper than CampusTelevideo.
As far as making a comparison, I wasn't the one making it. The email I received claimed that the offer from CampusTelevideo is comparable to what local cable companies charge, which clearly is not true.
So, I stand by my assertion that the offer from CampusTelevideo is a rip-off.

> The group can discuss this issue when we meet.

I agree. I appreciate that such a group was set up. I just wish this had been done right from the start...

-Joachim

He answered with this:

But, if "I" was paying for Cox it would cost a minimum of $42.00 a month for analog cable service, over $65.00 for digital. Residents of Graduate Housing who live in a 2 bedroom apartment pay only $3.00 a month for cable.
I believe that needs to be factored into the equation.

We'll talk at the meeting.

Kevin

************************
<copy of my original email clipped>

Here, he obviously tries a non-sequitur.
My answer to this one:

Kevin Ansel wrote on 2/10/2005 13:45:

> But, if "I" was paying for Cox it would cost a minimum of $42.00 a month for
> analog cable service, over $65.00 for digital. Residents of Graduate
> Housing who live in a 2 bedroom apartment pay only $3.00 a month for cable.
> I believe that needs to be factored into the equation.

Hmm, no offense, but you are really comparing apples with oranges here.
First off, for a 2-bedroom apartment the costs for Cox cable could be split, so it would be $21 for basic service.
Second, the $3 has to be paid even if a person does not have a TV or doesn't wish to use cable TV.
Third, the channel lineup for the CampusTelevideo is much worse than Cox's offerings. If Cox would cut ESPN and other channels out of their service, they could be quite a lot cheaper.
So, the base price is irrelevant here.
When looking at the prices charged for HBO on top of whatever the base price is, CampusTelevideo's charges are excessive.
My assertion still stands that CampusTelevideo does price gouging with respect to their HBO offering by taking advantage of their monopoly position.

> We'll talk at the meeting.

Is there any update on the documentation you wanted to send, and on a meeting date?

-Joachim

I haven't received an answer to my last email as of yet.