Cable Companies Fight an End to Junk Fees

All of the big cable companies, and many of the smaller ones, routinely use hidden fees to disguise the true cost of buying cable TV. The Federal Communications Commission has been moving to tackle hidden fees, and at its December 2023 meeting it released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that proposes to eliminate a service fee and early termination fees on customer who want to break the contracts that are required to get promotional pricing. Not surprisingly, the cable industry is fighting vehemently against the elimination of such fees. In December, NCTA – the Internet and Television Association, which is the trade association for the major cable TV companies, sent a letter to the FCC telling the agency that it doesn’t have the authority to tackle junk fees since that would amount to rate regulation. NCTA says that the FCC will be depriving consumers of getting low-cost specials if the providers have to tell the public the truth about the real cost of the specials.