Fuck you, Adam: Comcast regional sports fee

[Adam H. Kerman]

In addition to general high television packages prices from Comcast,
they surcharge very large amounts: the broadcast fee (which goes to
certain over-the-air channels) and the regional sports fee (which goes
to the Chicago teams: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks).

The Cubs formed their own regional sports channels several years ago,
which Comcast carries. Bulls-Blackhaws-White Sox were on NBC Sports
Chicago -- which is Comcast -- but that contract ended September 30 as
the three teams wanted their own regional sports channel.

Comcast refuses to make a deal to carry it.

For laughs, I made a formal complaint. THe Cubs didn't make it to the
post season and baseball has ended. Comcast is simply retaining the
entire fee. I demanded a refund.

The supervisor told me I wouldn't get it as she didn't want me t be
disappointed. I reminded her that she works for a cable company in which
the business model is disappointing subscribers and charging high fees.

I still wanted the complaint filed.

[Ian J. Ball]

Post by Adam H. Kerman
In addition to general high television packages prices from Comcast,
they surcharge very large amounts: the broadcast fee (which goes to
certain over-the-air channels) and the regional sports fee (which goes
to the Chicago teams: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks).

Look on the bright side - at least they're not making you watch the
Pittsburgh teams!

Post by Adam H. Kerman
The Cubs formed their own regional sports channels several years ago,
which Comcast carries. Bulls-Blackhaws-White Sox were on NBC Sports
Chicago -- which is Comcast -- but that contract ended September 30 as
the three teams wanted their own regional sports channel.
Comcast refuses to make a deal to carry it.
For laughs, I made a formal complaint. THe Cubs didn't make it to the
post season and baseball has ended. Comcast is simply retaining the
entire fee. I demanded a refund.
The supervisor told me I wouldn't get it as she didn't want me t be
disappointed. I reminded her that she works for a cable company in which
the business model is disappointing subscribers and charging high fees.
I still wanted the complaint filed.

[Rhino]

Post by Adam H. Kerman
In addition to general high television packages prices from Comcast,
they surcharge very large amounts: the broadcast fee (which goes to
certain over-the-air channels) and the regional sports fee (which goes
to the Chicago teams: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks).
The Cubs formed their own regional sports channels several years ago,
which Comcast carries. Bulls-Blackhaws-White Sox were on NBC Sports
Chicago -- which is Comcast -- but that contract ended September 30 as
the three teams wanted their own regional sports channel.
Comcast refuses to make a deal to carry it.
For laughs, I made a formal complaint. THe Cubs didn't make it to the
post season and baseball has ended. Comcast is simply retaining the
entire fee. I demanded a refund.
The supervisor told me I wouldn't get it as she didn't want me t be
disappointed. I reminded her that she works for a cable company in which
the business model is disappointing subscribers and charging high fees.
I still wanted the complaint filed.

They could end all that nonsense overnight if they just put each
channel's feed in a place where everyone could access it - presumably
the internet - and then have a way for each user to pay for what they
watch and ONLY what they watch. Each channel could set its own pricing
and offer ad-supported and ad-free versions of their channel in whatever
resolutions they wanted at any price they liked. If people liked what
they offered and were willing to pay, great, they'd make money. If the
interest in a given channel was minimal, they'd soon shut down.

I hate the different bundles the regulators force cable carriers to
offer. I remember having to buy a bundle of 16 or 18 channels, only one
or two of which I ever watched, just to get the one I watched regularly.
(That was our national regulator, the CRTC, and I'm not sure if bundles
were that big in the US. The CRTC eventually - after several years! -
reduced the size of the bundles somewhat and made some of the formerly
mandatory channels optional but I was still forced to pay for channels I
didn't want just to get ones that I did want to look at.) At least in
this case, the regulator is packed with former employees of Bell and
Rogers, the two biggest TV programming distributors in the country, and
their decisions almost always appeared to be designed to serve the
interests of Bell and Rogers, almost never consumers.

Let each of the Chicago teams provide its own feed at its own pricing
and then fans can watch any game they like from wherever they are,
assuming it has internet access. Ditto for all the other content
creators out there, including the big TV networks, news channels, etc.

Wouldn't that be a better system?

[Adam H. Kerman]

Post by Adam H. Kerman
In addition to general high television packages prices from Comcast,
they surcharge very large amounts: the broadcast fee (which goes to
certain over-the-air channels) and the regional sports fee (which goes
to the Chicago teams: Cubs, White Sox, Bulls, Blackhawks).
The Cubs formed their own regional sports channels several years ago,
which Comcast carries. Bulls-Blackhaws-White Sox were on NBC Sports
Chicago -- which is Comcast -- but that contract ended September 30 as
the three teams wanted their own regional sports channel.
Comcast refuses to make a deal to carry it.
For laughs, I made a formal complaint. THe Cubs didn't make it to the
post season and baseball has ended. Comcast is simply retaining the
entire fee. I demanded a refund.
The supervisor told me I wouldn't get it as she didn't want me t be
disappointed. I reminded her that she works for a cable company in which
the business model is disappointing subscribers and charging high fees.
I still wanted the complaint filed.

There was a partial credit on everyone's bill. I still want the whole
thing credited back.