{"id":20242,"date":"2022-12-01T16:04:06","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T16:04:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/01\/comcasts-bullshit-broadcast-tv-fee-surges-to-27-a-month\/"},"modified":"2022-12-01T16:04:06","modified_gmt":"2022-12-01T16:04:06","slug":"comcasts-bullshit-broadcast-tv-fee-surges-to-27-a-month","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mailinvest.blog\/index.php\/2022\/12\/01\/comcasts-bullshit-broadcast-tv-fee-surges-to-27-a-month\/","title":{"rendered":"Comcast\u2019s Bullshit \u2018Broadcast TV Fee\u2019 Surges To $27 A Month"},"content":{"rendered":"

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from the *spurious-surcharge<\/i> dept<\/h3>\n

Back in 2014, Comcast introduced a new $1.50 per month surcharge on cable bills it called its \u201cBroadcast TV Fee.\u201d Said fee was really just a portion of the cost of doing business for Comcast (programming costs), busted out of the full bill and hidden below the line \u2014 designed specifically to let the company falsely advertise a lower price.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to 2022 and the fee has jumped to $27 a month<\/a>, with recent hikes as high as $7.35\u00a0a month in some areas:<\/p>\n

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Comcast\u2019s advertised prices do not include the Broadcast TV or the Regional Sports Network fees even though these fees account for a large portion of customers\u2019 actual monthly bills. On Comcast\u2019s ordering website, the base prices are listed along with a message stating that Broadcast TV and Regional Sports fees are \u201cextra\u201d and that the price is \u201csubject to change.\u201d The Broadcast TV and Regional Sports fees also aren\u2019t included in how Comcast calculates promotional pricing and thus can be raised even when a customer\u2019s promotional rate hasn\u2019t expired.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

This is something that cable giants have been doing for decades. It\u2019s effectively false advertising, and allows them to pretend that they aren\u2019t consistently raising rates. And, as the quote above notes, it even allows them to raise prices on you if you\u2019ve agreed to a promotional rate. <\/p>\n

A\u00a02019 Consumer Reports<\/a>\u00a0study found that about 24% of consumer cable bills are comprised of bullshit fees, generating cable giants $28 billion in additional revenue annually. The problem is just as bad over among phone companies selling broadband (see Centurylink\u2019s utterly nonsensical\u00a0\u201cInternet Cost Recovery\u201d fee<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Occasionally, a state AG will dole out a brief wrist slap for the practice that only costs Comcast (or Charter, or Centurylink) a tiny fraction of the money they made off the misleading fees. Federal regulators, regardless of party, have generally given their tacit approval to the practice, much as they have in the banking, airline, and other industries. Ripping people off creatively is innovative, apparently. <\/p>\n

The Biden FCC\u2019s big solution to this and other nickel-and-diming efforts has been to demand a voluntary nutrition label<\/a>, letting you more clearly see how you\u2019re getting ripped off. Actually stopping big telecom monopolies from ripping you off (or even acknowledging that it\u2019s happening using pointed language) is unfortunately just a bridge too far. <\/p>\n

\nFiled Under: broadband<\/a>, broadcast tv fee<\/a>, cable<\/a>, consumer protection<\/a>, fcc<\/a>, ftc<\/a>, hidden fees<\/a>, high speed internet<\/a>, regional sports fee<\/a>, tv<\/a>
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Companies: comcast<\/a>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n