In an apparent effort to woo new customers who only want the most basic of cable service and retain some current subscribers who are thinking of cutting the cable cord, Cox Communications has become the latest cable provider to jump on the low-price bandwagon, rolling out its $35/month TV Economy offering.

The channel lineup differs from market to market, but all will include local channels and about 20 additional basic cable channels like CNN, E!, Food Network and Discovery.

The biggest absence from the channels being offered in ESPN, which is generally the most expensive basic channel for a provider to carry at around a reported $4.76/month per subscriber.

Cox’s price of $35/month for TV Economy makes it the most expensive of the recently launched not-quite-bargain-basement services. Comcast’s similar MyTVchoice service is only $25/month and Time Warner Cable’s TV Essentials package is $30/month. None of these services carry ESPN.

Of course, since many U.S. consumers have very little control of which cable providers they can select from, comparing the price differences between these services may be pointless.

Cox does also offer a $20/month TV Starter package that is basically a way for subscribers to get local channels without having to worry about over-the-air reception.

Cox launches $35 monthly ‘TV Economy’ programming packages [FierceCable.com via Multichannel.com]

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