DeBlog: Why Do New Customers Get Better Deals?

Tonight's Good Question comes from Norman Sell in West St. Paul. He's frustrated with the current Comcast Triple Play promotion: $99 a month for 2 years of phone, cable and Internet.

It costs $99 and includes 3 free months of HBO. In the second year, it goes to $114.99 a month. In year three, regular customers pay $129.99 a month. That's a $30 difference per month, $360 per year.

We see this in newspapers too. A new subscriber to the Star Tribune pays $3 a week for 7-day home delivery. After the promotional period, that goes up to $5.13 a week. That's almost $70 a year difference.

The question is: Why do new customers get better deals than old ones? Is a new customer worth more than an old one? Is it because we're not likely to leave once we're in? What do you think?