Okay.  We know that price hikes are inevitable.  And that investment in new technology etc. can help explain them.  But raising prices on April's Fools Day?  Really?

We didn't believe it when we first saw it but Comcast has confirmed that customers in some markets are receiving notices of rate hikes due to hit on April 1.  For the most part, customers will see bumps of around $2 on a wide range of services.  And, of course, the hikes will only be in effect for those who are not currently enrolled in promotional packages.  That group, according to a Comcast spokeswoman, comprises about 40 to 50% of Comcast customers.

In a statement, Comcast notes, “We continue to invest in next-generation technology to support new product features, more programming choices and improvements to customer service.  These investments make it possible to deliver continued innovations such as more HD and On Demand choices, converged services, multi-platform content, faster Internet speeds and new services consumers want and value.  As a result of these investments, combined with the increased cost of doing business and rising programming costs, the average customer bill will increase by 3.1 percent.”

So there.  But on April Fools??!•

Not directly, say analysts from Stifel Nicolaus.  "We doubt Congress is ready to legislate and the FCC in the past has shied away from  intervening in retransmission fights, beyond some jawboning," Rebecca Arbogast and David Kaut write.  What's more, they say, any attempts to "fix" retransmission battles will  likely result in a political and legal broadcaster uproar.

Still, there's hope.  Say Arbogast and Kaut, "Our sense is regulatory scrutiny will likely put new pressure on broadcasters to moderate their payment demands and bargaining tactics, given the potential policy fallout."

And if the broadcasters don't "moderate"?  Ah, then it will likely get REALLY interesting. 

Speaking of retrans, don't lose sight of that Cablevision "must carry" challenge seeking a hearing by the Supreme Court.  The folks at SNL Kagan point out that all comments and filings for the case are due by March 29.  Getting heard by the court is always a long shot, but given the current tumult it just might happen.•

• It's not necessarily a good idea to gloat about ad rev prospects while also maintaining a "need" for retrans monies but that's more or less what CBS honcho Les Moonves did at an investor's conference in Florida.  "I've never seen a scatter market this strong," he told assembled analysts and added that this year's upfront market could see pricing up by a double digit percentage. 

• Disney's Iger: "There are no guarantees in terms of what will remain part of our company and what will not."  That was in answer to a stockholder question at yesterday's annual shareholder's meeting in San Antonio, Iger wasn't saying ABC (or anything else) would be spun off tomorrow, but that anything can happen in today's media world.  Also, taking a note from ski areas, Iger announced a $700/annual pass to Disneyland and Disney World.  Shareholders also elected Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg to the board joining, among others, Apple's Steve Jobs.

• DiversityInc's Top 50 companies for diversity list several notables in the media/communications field including:  AT&T at No. 3; Verizon at No. 11; Cox Communications at No. 21; Disney at No. 33; Cisco at No. 37; and Time Warner at No. 39. 

• The second season of the Starz original series "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" is on temporary hold due to the illness of its star, Andy Whitfield.  Whitfield has Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma which his doctors deem "very treatable."
 
• HDNet will add a new original series "Fighting Words with Mike Straka" to its Friday night lineup.  The 30-minute one-on-one will feature interviews with the top stars in mixed martial arts.

• The big get bigger as ESPN has gained rights to the New Era Pinstripe Bowl through 2015.  The first bowl game start pitching on Dec. 20, 2010 in Yankee Stadium.  This comes on top of last week's news that ESPN had gained rights to the Gater Bowl through 2014.

• Watch for a free preview of CBS College Sports running March 8 through April 5.  The free preview will make the service available to an additional 18 million subscribers from leading service providers across the nation.

• Samsung and Panasonic both plan to start selling 3D TVs in the U.S. this week.  Of course, there isn't much in the way of programming, but that's sure to change given the blockbuster status of "Alice in Wonderland" and, before that, "Avatar."

• Motorola has received Calix certification for both video and data on its 2247-62 Netopia® ADSL2+ Wireless Voice Integrated Access Device Gateway.  The gateway facilitates shared content, including video, "anytime, anywhere and on any device."•