If you get your cable through Time Warner be prepared to pay more for your TV shows. Starting next month, February 1

to be precise, cable rates are going up for Warner as well as for other providers.

If you’re thinking of switching to another provider, you’ll see prices are going up for the Verizon FiOS and the Dish Network as well. Consumers are really noticing the price increases, as for instance a package for the Dish Network that used to cost $118 per month is now going to cost $130. Where Time Warner is concerned, customers who are subscribers of the basic package are now going to pay $61.14 per month, up from $57.69. Digital Basic will cost $63.95 where it used to be $59.95

Robin Wolfgang, a spokesman for Time Warner Cable argues that the company has no choice but to increase costs.

''The biggest increase we have constantly fighting is the programmers. The programmers, as I say, we are basically wholesale distributors of them; we have to purchase their product, and that is our biggest expense.'', Wolfgang told Channel 4 News.

Customers are understandably upset, but while some find the situation overwhelming, few are surprised given the economic background, and simply look for their alternatives.

Meanwhile Time Warner Cable argues to its defense that it must spend a great deal of money to broadcast precisely what their most popular channels are. Channels like ESPN, CNN and the Movie Channel are both Time Warner’s source of popularity as a cable provider and the source of its financial distress, at least at the immediate level.