Comcast increasing brodcast TV fee by nearly 5 bucks a month

[Summer94]

I know this is a cost handed down to Comcast by the local station owners, but Comcast needs to do a better job negotiating. Other cable companies in Peoria IL charge less, and offer all local stations. Comcast does not even have Antenna TV WAOE D3, Light TV WAOE D3 and Court TV Mystery WMBD DTV4. For 50 bucks a month we don't even get all of our local channels. If we are going to get charged that much then we should be getting ALL of our local channels that I3 Broadband provides their customers. I feel either Comcast is doing a poor job negotiating or they are simply not including all the local channels on the line up when they can. Frustrating

[nickp1]

My broadcast fee is being increased by $6.20/month along with other price increases as I read ALL the pages of my PDF statement for Dec-Jan. 

On pages (5-6) it shows Comcasts explanation of the increases and the fees I will be charged as of Jan 1, 2020.

https://billfixers.com/blog/broadcast-tv-fee

[baz123]

<Edited>.  Not negotiating makes it easier for them to blame the increased fees on someone else -- the old, "We're sorry.  It's not our fault" routine.  <Edited>

[Doug-H]

I am going to contact them about adding some of the digital stations I can get on my TV using an antenna but is not on my cable especially Heroes and Icons channel..   I noted on the cable systems that friends have that it is included..

I suspect when you cut the cord, then you don't get those channels anymore...    I haven't looked.. but when you sign up for some of the streaming services that include locals, do they charge a seperate fee???     I know there have been fights with carry fees and local stations and a number of cable and SAT services in recent years that blocked access to certain stations..   

[Summer94]

I know that if you sign up for Comcast streaming service with local channels you still pay the local broadcast TV fee. I live in a heavily wooded area where it's hard to get all the locals reliability all the time. I have contacted Comcast in years past a out the 3 local subchannels they do not offer and they tell me the Broadcasters don't allow them eventhough we are changed 50 plus bucks a month for just local channels. Comcast has about a 600 foot tower 5 miles from here with TV antennas already on it that could easily pick up all our local channels and they still won't offer them. The other cable service provider on town offers all of them for a cheeper price, if I wasn't grandfathered in on digital economy I would switch to them, which I may do anyway if prices keep rising with no improvement in programming.

[Summer94]

I remember reading somewhere that back in 1992 a man sued his local cable company for not providing all his local channels. He won his case and they passed a must carry law. But that law is outdated (in my opinion), after 2008 most stations also broadcast sub channels on the same signal. This is not included in the must carry 1992 law, so a lot of cable companies don't offer some or all of them. The law only applies to the main -1 channel. Untill someone sues and wins again, or a law gets passed, it will most likely remain the same.