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Charter’s hidden “Broadcast TV” fee now adds $197 a year to cable bills:
Charter Communications is raising the "Broadcast TV" fee it imposes on cable plans from $13.50 to $16.45 a month starting in August, Stop the Cap reported.
Charter says the Broadcast TV fee covers the amount it pays broadcast television stations (e.g. affiliates of CBS, NBC, ABC, and Fox) for the right to carry their channels. But for consumers, it is essentially a hidden fee because Charter's advertised TV prices don't include it.
Charter has raised the fee repeatedly—it stood at $9.95 in early 2019 before a series of price increases. At $16.45 a month, the fee will cost customers an additional $197.40 per year. Charter sells TV, broadband, and phone service under its Spectrum brand name and is the second largest cable company in the US after Comcast.
Charter imposes a smaller Broadcast TV fee on its streaming TV plans, but is raising that charge from $6 to $8.95 a month, Stop the Cap wrote. Charter is also raising the base price of its TV service. "Spectrum's most popular TV Select package is expected to increase $1.50/month to $73.99/month," Stop the Cap wrote. "Customers on a promotional pricing plan will not see this rate increase until their promotional pricing expires."
(Score: 2) by SpockLogic on Thursday July 16 2020, @12:28PM
When Time Warner morphed into Spectrum or as I call them Speculum* (they are in fact trying to find and extract your last ¢) I cut the cable TV cord. The dishonest and deceptive mailers they constantly send go straight into the round file and their phone calls end quickly when I ask "Dose your mother know you lie to people for a living? They are scumbags.
*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speculum_(medical)
Overreacting is one thing, sticking your head up your ass hoping the problem goes away is another - edIII