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Television The Almighty Buck The Internet United States

Comcast Raises Cable TV Bills Again -- Even If You're Under Contract (arstechnica.com) 128

Posted by BeauHD from the nickeled-and-dimed dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: Comcast is raising its controversial "Broadcast TV" and "Regional Sports Network" fees again on January 1, with the typical total price going from $14.50 to $18.25 a month. The newly raised broadcast TV fee will be $10 a month, and the sports fee will be $8.25 a month, Cord Cutters News reported last week. The new fee sizes are confirmed in a Comcast price list for the Atlanta market. The new price hikes will take effect in most of Comcast's regional markets across the U.S. on January 1, but some cities will get the increase later in 2019, a Comcast spokesperson told Ars. The fee sizes can vary by city based on which stations are available, so in some cases they could be less than $10 and $8.25, Comcast said.

The fees, which have become common in the industry, are controversial because they are not included in Comcast's advertised prices and because Comcast imposes fee increases even on customers who are under contract. The broadcast and sports fee increases will also be applied to customers who pay Comcast's promotional rates, which typically last one year, Comcast told Ars. Equipment rental fees are rising, too. Comcast last year raised its modem rental fee from $10 to $11 a month. The new price list for January 1 lists an "Internet/Voice Equipment Rental" fee as $13. Comcast confirmed to Ars that the modem rental fee is rising $2 a month. Customers can avoid that fee by purchasing their own modem.
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Comcast Raises Cable TV Bills Again -- Even If You're Under Contract More

Comcast Raises Cable TV Bills Again -- Even If You're Under Contract

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  • TV=Waste of money (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Eravnrekaree ( 467752 ) on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @09:08AM (#57707012)

    I see an ad for TV+Internet for $35 and when all of the fees and taxes are added in it comes out to more like $80. Very deceptive advertising practices. In some cases, its hard to get out of them what the actual fees and taxes will be. Then, probably the make it so the first bill comes only after the 30 day gaurantee is up. There is nothing worth watching on TV anyway (and really even on NetFlix). Much is designed for the lowest common denominator, you can feel your IQ dropping just being exposed to it. Much of the news, especially CNN, is complete disinformation propoganda and lies to turn people into America hating nutjobs. I don't watch TV, and its great.

    • I think Comcast figured out that cord cutting isn't cheap. So they have less to fear from competition. If they raise the ala carte prices too then then they also have more room to cut you a deal on that "internet phone cable " bundle.

      • You are correct.

        However, the only reason cord cutting isn't cheap is the same reason people are on FB:
        FOMO.

        Why aren't people ok with just NF or Prime?
        I talk to people who have like 4, 5 or 6 different streaming services for content.
        WTF!?
        Why?!?

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by torkus ( 1133985 )

          I haven't subscribed to cable TV myself in ... at least 15 years. I've had it in the house occasionally due to roommates and the like but never bothered to hook it up for myself.

          I do laugh at people who still spend endless hours watching whatever shows. On the odd chance one interests me, i'll download the whole series and watch it at my leisure - usually on a long flight or while commuting.

          Otherwise netflix and amazon prime serve their purpose well enough, tho NF is only around because it's more annoying

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by sconeu ( 64226 )

            Two words: Live Sports.

            • Re: (Score:2)

              by Pascoea ( 968200 )
              Pretty much. Like watching Football? OTA will get you the ABC/NBC/CBS Sunday games. (Good luck if you don't like the local team, though.) Monday night? Those are on ESPN, so now you have Sling. Thursday games? Those are on the NFL network, so you need the "other" sling, or Amazon Prime.

          • I do laugh at people who still spend endless hours watching whatever shows.

            Often? Are you sitting in your chair at home just laughing and laughing?

            I'd say be less concerned with what others are doing and read a book, but this seems to bring you more joy so keep at it :)

    • I see an ad for TV+Internet for $35 and when all of the fees and taxes are added in it comes out to more like $80. Very deceptive advertising practices. In some cases, its hard to get out of them what the actual fees and taxes will be. Then, probably the make it so the first bill comes only after the 30 day gaurantee is up. There is nothing worth watching on TV anyway (and really even on NetFlix). Much is designed for the lowest common denominator, you can feel your IQ dropping just being exposed to it. Much of the news, especially CNN, is complete disinformation propoganda and lies to turn people into America hating nutjobs. I don't watch TV, and its great.

      Tbh many of these fees are to compensate for regulations you, dear voter, feel are important.

      Like taxes at the store, get mad at yourself, not the store.

    • I love how you think you are too smart for TV and CNN is propoganda. Then you go on to say it is designed to make people hate America. That's got to be the most stupid claim I've seen ever. I hereby diagnose you with Dunning Krueger Syndrome.
    • It's to the point that when I was researching internet-only plans when the provider I eventually went (Frontier) with told me the price was $30, I said, no, really, what's the total after taxes and fees and they said "$30" and I said, really, what about after all the "taxes" and "fees" and they said "$30" and I still didn't believe them. I went ahead anyway because they were the best price and service and I figured the other guys (I have a choice of 3-4 providers) would have similar fees so it wouldn't matt

  • Great! (Score:1)

    by Anonymous Coward

    This is great for shareholder value. Cable TV fees were always too low.

    People sometimes invite non-subscribers to watch tv, they should be charged a nominal monthly fee for this.

    People sometimes mute commercials, they should be charged for this.

    People sometimes use unauthorized/illegal DVRs, there should be be a fee for this.

    People sometimes don't watch tv at all, they should be charged for this.

    Poeple sometimes flip channels very quickly, missing commercials, they should be charged for this.

  • Comment removed (Score:5, Insightful)

    by account_deleted ( 4530225 ) on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @09:16AM (#57707048)
    Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • for some they are the only internet choice.
      Other then maybe slow DSL or capped LTE

      • *other than*

        This is a great turn of phrase, seeming to prove the point, and of course not.

        Not a great choice, maybe not even a fair choice, but a choice. Patience. Band 71.

        • Not a great choice, maybe not even a fair choice, but a choice. Patience. Band 71.

          It's a choice between internet that is unsuitable for purpose (DSL, LTE) or internet which is more or less suitable for purpose, which is no choice at all.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by tepples ( 727027 )

            Sincerely boycotting Comcast may require tough choices:

            - Changing your purpose to match what DSL is suitable for
            - Changing your location to another city where the incumbent high-speed high-volume home Internet provider happens to be a company other than Comcast

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by tepples ( 727027 )

          "For a particular subscriber's monthly data transfer volume, the LTE providers are even more expensive than Comcast." Would this phrasing be more honest?

        • No, just because the phrase "other than" is used we cannot conclude that what follows is a set of reasonable choices. For example "There is no way to avoid getting older, other than faster than light travel and suicide."
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by antdude ( 79039 )

        Or satellite and dial-up. :(

    • Wow. All this time I thought they were 'competing' for your money. I'm betting they would not accept an eyeball in the post for payment.

      Yes, I know your attention is marketable, but if the cable cos worked somewhat like Google or Facebook, for instance, your service would be free, but your TV would be on 24x7, you would have to wait through ads for what you aren't very interested in to actually *see* what you wanted, your DVR would include unskippable ads and would arbitrarily include whatever they wanted

  • comcast business static ip you are forced to rent the modem

    • Are you forced to rent the modem? I think you can buy one.

    • That is usually due to the fact that there is an SLA and therefore they are providing connectivity at a guaranteed level. If there is any disruptions due to hardware failure, they will replace it. Businesses that want static IPs generally are sensitive to outages, hence the SLA. The marginal higher cost associated with a SLA is usually negligible compared to the revenue being generated.

      I'm not a Comcast fan, but this practice makes total sense and is the norm for the industry.

  • Because they can (Score:3, Insightful)

    by OneHundredAndTen ( 1523865 ) on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @09:21AM (#57707074)
    It's as simple as that. As long as people keep paying, they will increase their prices.

  • Talk about nickle and diming. (Score:3)

    by stealth_finger ( 1809752 ) on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @09:31AM (#57707138)
    Talk about nickle and diming.

  • Comcast also stated they will be raising fees on their buggy whip rentals, and mandating you buy one.

  • Problem solved.

    I recently got Hulu for $12 a year. It's okay, but I would not pay much more than that. Curiousitystream for $20 a year is a better value for me.

    Lots to choose from.

    I think you can buy your own cable modem as well.

    • I think you can buy your own cable modem as well.

      I have ComCast Business. Nope, you must rent it. Like a different comment says, I think it's for the business SLA -- in addition, they KNOW what's on the other end, how to access and configure it, and already have a warehouse full of 'em. If you've got your own modem, they don't know how to buy it or configure it, and you probably don't know know or have forgotten. But that's bad for their SLA, so I think modem rental is just a cost of doing business.

      Curiousitystream for $20 a year is a better value for me.

      I've been thinking about that (CS). Check out this. [vrv.co]

      • You MUST rent it. You can also bridge the thing and treat it as a demarc.

      • >I have ComCast Business. Nope, you must rent it.

        Nope. I have ComCast Business, and I bought my own modem.

        Payback was (as I recall) 6 months. Makes good business sense financially, and turning off any "xfinity hot spots" is great for reducing liability. My Internet service is mine, and any schmuck walking by. Plus my own modem is more reliable. Haven't had to reset the modem yet- contrasted with the monthly routine with theirs.

        Modems are a commodity item. There are dozens of flavors on Amazon for cry

  • I just noticed yesterday that the local internet supplier is adding fiber to my location. $70/mo for 1Gig/symmetrical. Might finally make the jump...guess I'll hold off moving to Xfinity Mobile.

  • I see UHD TVs being sold for 300$, all kinds of dvd recorders and blue ray players under 50, 64GB memory under 50, Chromebooks under 100...

    And the stupid set top box that they installed several years ago is being charged 10 to 20 $ a month!

    Just last week I had an hour long chat with Xfinity rep. Started with the low ball, 80$ a month triple play. Ended up at 130$ a month with two year contract. Compared to Gigabit internet from FiOS currently at 150$. Even that contract price has hidden fees it looks lik

  • Go on.... (Score:4, Informative)

    by MerlTurkin ( 598333 ) on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @10:12AM (#57707422)
    Keep bending over for the cable companies people. DITCH THAT TV service. I'll save over $1,200 this year due to ditching mine last December.

  • Terminate service then. (Score:3)

    by mark-t ( 151149 ) <markt AT nerdflat DOT com> on Tuesday November 27, 2018 @10:16AM (#57707440) Journal
    FTA:

    Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey found that Comcast advertised a $99 lock-in rate but "did not adequately disclose equipment costs and mandatory monthly fees" that would add to monthly bills and "failed to adequately disclose that the fees could increase while the customer was locked into the long-term contract."

    While there may not be anything people can do about keeping their original contract prices, that failure to disclose substantially weakens their ability to hold people to remaining on that contract, and it wouldn't surprise me if they aren't able to actually enforce any early termination fees they might have decided should otherwise apply, particularly since the customer would have had no practical way to anticipate in advance that these changes were about to occur.

  • Your local TV stations, or more specifically their greedy parent companies, are to blame for the hike in Retransmission Fees. The ACA expects fees to keep going up. [multichannel.com] These fees vary from region to region.

    The station owners have been using money from fees to buy more stations so they can leverage cable companies to raise fees.

    Getting rid of the fees would require fixing the retransmission consent provision [wikipedia.org] of the 1992 United States Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act. That forces cable op

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by PPH ( 736903 )

      This.

      I remember when cable TV systems were essentially community antennas. Because reception was crap in hilly areas and local TV broadcasts couldn't be seen in a large part of their market. So the cable systems provided value to the broadcasters (more viewers). And did so without asking for compensation from the local stations and networks.

      One approach to breaking up the cable companies would be to offer free re-transmission rights to cooperatively owned cable systems. In effect, going back to the commun

  • the higher the bill gets, the less people will stick around. the prices are already too high. remember when cable was supposed to not have commercials? you pay to watch, and still have to watch commercials. that makes no sense. they should make a free service, and have it paid for by running commercials during the broadcast. but nope, they want $ from everyone involved, from the lowly subscribing customers to the advertisers paying for the commercials. they really wonder why people keep ditching cable, the

  • I just went through this with Comcast, and I feel like I was lied to every step of the way. Long story short it turns out you CANNOT purchase a cable modem compatible with Comcast's gigabit offering, because they ALSO require that the modem supports their Internet Voice service, and ONLY Comcast Modems support that. Grimey fuckers.

    The long story is: I called into Tech Support because I wanted to upgrade to their Super Triple Play, because getting virtually EVERY channel and upgraded gigabit internet turn
    • Gigabit is a sham anyway -- the rest of the Internet isn't really fast enough to benefit from it. Downgrade to 100 mbps and call it a day.

  • "with the typical total price gouge from $14.50 to $18.25 a month."

  • What happens if those customers under contract want to cancel? Will they get slapped with an early termination fee? I'm betting that's the norm.

    My Christmas wish: I want the FTC and the FCC to slap around the TV and internet providers until they start acting right.

    I'll even negotiate around political and economic ideals. I don't care if the government cancels existing benefits/protections or enacts new requirements, as long as these companies get the message.

  • shut up and pay... kardashians are on soon
  • 69.99 per month PLUS 14.95 local broadcast fee PLUS 29.96 install fee PLUS 40.00 modem fee x 4 rooms PLUS 10.95 Federal tax PLUS 9.95 State tax PLUS 4.95 Local tax Total 2 to 3 times the advertised price It's the "user fees" and crap where they make their real money.

  • It's like the "Fuck you, I'm out." scene from Half-Baked.
    But without anyone/anything cool.

    I need a cigarette... and I don't even smoke.

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