Pay-per-view prices rise for 2006

Hawaii football season-ticket holders will be offered the Sept. 2 Alabama broadcast free

Pay-per-view prices for televised Hawaii football games are going up for the coming season.

Pay-per-view season-ticket renewals are $110 higher on Oahu than last school year and Oahu first-time season-ticket subscribers will pay $150 more than in 2005-06, according to figures announced yesterday by KHNL/KFVE.

Oahu renewals will be $285 for seven non-ESPN home football games, two road football games, three men's basketball games and three Rainbow Wahine volleyball matches. First-time Oahu buyers will pay $350 for the season package.

For those watching from the neighbor islands, renewals are $135, first-time subscriptions will run $175.

UH football season-ticket holders -- those who have purchased them by Aug. 11 -- who also have Oceanic digital cable boxes will receive the telecast of the Sept. 2 game at Alabama free as a community service effort by KFVE and Oceanic Time Warner Cable, KHNL/KFVE general manager John Fink said.

Otherwise, single-game telecasts are available for $50 per home game and $60 for the road games at Alabama and Oct. 21 at New Mexico State.

"We're pleased that we can offer the Alabama pay-per-view game to our football season-ticket holders free of charge," UH athletic director Herman Frazier said. "This is a small token of our appreciation to our loyal fans. Mahalo to KFVE and Oceanic Time Warner Cable for their continuing partnership and for helping us extend this offer to our football season-ticket holders. Going forward, we'll continue to find ways to reward our loyal supporters and create excitement in the community for UH sports."

UH, KFVE and Oceanic introduced pay-per-view in 2002 at $12.95 per game and $75 per season package. Since then it has evolved as a revenue stream for all three entities.