
Customers of Charter’s pay TV service Spectrum will soon pay more for broadcast networks that they are forced to receive.
For a while now, Spectrum subscribers have paid $13 monthly fee to receive their local ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and other broadcast stations as part of their television service.
That fee will soon jump to nearly $17 a month, according to the industry blog Stop the Cap which was notified by Charter employees of the increase this week.
“Spectrum breaks this fee out of the monthly cost of cable TV and places it as a separate line item on your bill,” Stop the Cap reporter Phillip Dampier wrote. “This also conveniently allows the company to pass through rate increases even if you are on a price-locked promotional pricing package typically offered to new customers. ”
The huge fee increase will impact Spectrum customers who receive pay television through traditional cable. Subscribers of Spectrum’s over-the-top streaming TV service will also see a fee increase from $3 a month to $9 a month.
In addition to the broadcast fee increase, Spectrum will also raise the cost of its “TV Select” package by $1.50 a month to around $74 a month.
Customers of both Spectrum services will still have to pay additional taxes and fees.
The fee increases are expected to roll out to Spectrum subscribers next month.
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Correction: An earlier version of this article erroneously said Spectrum’s current fee is $3 a month. It is $13 a month.