Falcon Cable TV will raise its rates for basic and extended basic service by 5 percent effective June 20.

Falcon Cable also is increasing its rates for its systems in other areas of the nation..

"We haven't had one in 18 months," said Dave Huntsman, regional manager for Falcon Cable in Sikeston.

For the 14,500 cable customers in Cape Girardeau County, basic cable service will increase by 52 cents from $11.94 to $12.46 a month.

Customers with extended basic service will see their monthly bill rise from $26.74 to $28.08, an increase of $1.34.

Basic service provides 17 channels. Extended basic provides an additional 18 channels.

Huntsman and Roger Harms, manager of the cable system in Cape Girardeau County, said the rate hikes are needed to recover increased operating costs.

"The biggest cost is programming has gone up," said Harms.

Huntsman said the rate hike reflects increased expenses that have been incurred over the last year.

"We get yearly increases from our programmers," he said.

Huntsman said Falcon Cable has tried to keep rate hikes to a minimum. "Our issue is every time we have a rate increase, we lose customers."

He said Falcon Cable has to walk a fine line between increasing rates to cover costs and keeping customers happy.

Harms said channels like ESPN continue to raise the fees they charge cable operators.

ESPN, the sports channel, currently charges Falcon Cable a monthly fee of more than $1 per subscriber.

ESPN is looking at raising its rates by nearly 50 percent, Huntsman said.

That's not reflected in the 5 percent rate hike, he said.

Harms said Falcon Cable could charge even more under federal law but chose to keep the increase lower to better compete for the public's entertainment dollar.