As cord cutting grows, cable TV companies are continuing to raise their prices making cord cutting look even less expensive.
Comcast customers will start seeing a price hike starting on December 18, 2019, and becoming nationwide in January 2020 with the fee on Broadcast TV to go up from $10 a month to $14.95 a month. The Basic TV package will be increasing from $30 a month to $35 a month, and internet will be increasing on most plans $3 a month. (The one exception is Gigabit Pro, which will remain $299.95 a month.)
Comcast Internet customers will also be seeing a price hike. Starting on December 18, internet customers will see the cost of modem and voice equipment increase by $1 a month to $14 a month. The good news is you can buy your own modem and not pay Comcast $14 a month (or $168 a year) for the privilege of renting their equipment. Other fees are also increasing. The Returned Payment Fee will be increasing by $10 a month to $30.
Spectrum customers recently saw their prices go up in October. Spectrum TV customers now pay $13.50 a month for broadcast TV fees, up from $11.99 a month. This adds up to $162 a year to your bill just to watch free over-the-air TV you could get with an antenna. (Spectrum’s streaming services TV Stream and TV Choice will see the Broadcast TV “Surcharge” increase from $5 a month to $6 a month.)
This is the third price hike for Spectrum’s Broadcast TV Surcharge in the last 12 months. In November 2018, Spectrum raised the Broadcast TV Surcharge from $8.85 a month to $9.95 a month. In March 2019, it went from $9.95 a month to $11.99 a month. Now it is increasing to $13.99 a month. Even if you have a price lock, your fees will still go up.
AT&T’s TV price hikes will vary wildly depending on what plan you have, but the DIRECTV Premier TV plan will be going up by $8 a month and the Xtra and Unlimited plans will be increasing $7 a month.
U-Verse customers will see their prices go up between $3 a month and $7 a month depending on the plan. If you have the U-Basic TV plan which offers local channels and sometimes a few others, you will not see a price increase.
According to AT&T’s website, the price hike will take effect for new customers on January 19, 2020. Current customers will see their prices go up when their promotional pricing ends. (Unless you change your base package and, at that time, you will pay the new higher-end plan.)
Some AT&T fees are going up with the fee on Regional Sports Networks increasing by as much as $2 a month depending on where you live. It is important to note this fee will go up even if you are on a promotional pricing plan.
How much are you saving by avoiding these price increases with cord cutting? Leave us a comment and let us know.
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