The argument about how cable TV is cheaper than cord cutting has been going on for years. Recently several cord cutting services have gone up, with YouTube TV going up to $72.99 a month and Paramount+ going up $1 or $2 a month now though Comcast and Spectrum have quietly raised the price of their TV services by raising the fees for things like Broadcast TV.
Both Comcast and Spectrum have raised the cost of their fees this year, including the Broadcast TV fee, a fee that is added on for your local channels like ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC.
So what are these fees now? Let us start off with Spectrum. On top of the advertised price for the Spectrum TV package, you will now also find these fees. You will now pay $22.20 a month for broadcast TV channels in some markets and $12 a month for DVR service. Want the ability to watch your shows outside your home on your DVR? That will also now be an extra fee.
Comcast raised the price of its Broadcast TV fee to $31.25 a month on top of the advertised price. Not only that, but you will also find in many areas a $9.10 RSN fee.
This means Comcast is adding $40.31 to many of its TV packages on top of the advertised price. So that $70 Popular TV package that offers 125+ channels will now cost you over $110 a month once they add in the RSN and broadest TV fee.
These price hikes have recently been added to the fees instead of the base packages. This allows them to still advertise the same base package but get more money from it. Rasing fees are also often not considered a part of any price lock. So any customers who have a price lock on their base package can still sometimes see price increases if the fees go up.
So as always, when you see someone say cable is cheaper than cord cutting don’t forget to remind them about all the hidden fees that are not advertised in that price.