Altice USA may have unlocked the secret to making promotions and promotional pricing work for cable: never let them end.
While the rest of the industry tries to wean itself off promotional pricing, Altice USA began a “Price for Life” campaign in its Optimum and Suddenlink footprints this month, offering new customers more than 220 video channels and internet service at 200 Megabits per second for $64.99 per month (not including taxes, fees and other charges) for as long as they have service with the company.
For customers who need a little more video and internet, “Price for Life” has three other tiers. Select includes over 340 channels and 200 Mbps internet for $74.99; Core TV has more than 220 video channels and 400 Mbps for $84.99; and Premier TV has over 420 channels (including premium channels HBO and Showtime) and 200 Mbps for $94.99.
The price points are the same as previous offers, with an added “for life” component. New customers also get a $100 Amazon gift card, can add digital phone service for an additional $5 per month and all of the packages utilize the company’s Altice One wireless hub platform.
Altice USA said the “Price for Life” packages help solve one of the biggest problems of promotional periods: the sticker shock a consumer feels when that period rolls off. That traditionally leads to heavy churn, but with no contract and no pressure, customers stay longer. Eventually, usually around the two-year mark, customers will find that they want higher internet speeds and upgrade to larger packages.
“This essentially eliminates the pain point of promotional rolloffs,” an Altice spokesperson said.
While programming costs tend to rise over time, the idea is that, in two or three years, customers will likely feel the need for an internet upgrade. And when they do, most likely to a higher price point, it will be their choice.
