Why you’re still paying for sports on cable when there’s no live sports
Cable refunds must wait for negotiations involving leagues and broadcasters. …
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Cable-TV companies are still charging customers for sports channels even as the coronavirus pandemic forces the suspension of all major sports leagues.
The continued charges include Regional Sports Network (RSN) fees, which often add almost $10 to customer bills in exchange for access to local professional and college live-sports broadcasts. But RSN fees are just one piece of the puzzle, as national sports broadcasts on channels like ESPN, NBC, ABC, and Fox account for some percentage of the bundle charges paid by TV customers.
Comcast told Ars today that “any rebates will be determined once the NBA, NHL, and MLB announce the course of action for their seasons, including the number of games that will be played, and of course we will pass those rebates or other adjustments along to our customers.”
As Comcast’s statement noted, the leagues themselves haven’t made final decisions about whether they’ll finish their seasons. If the leagues end up re-playing most or all canceled games, they aren’t likely to give money back to programmers. But as the pandemic continues, the likelihood of leagues finishing their full slates of regular-season and post-season games diminishes.
Verizon, which operates FiOS TV service, told The New York Times last week that “we don’t want to charge our customers for content they aren’t watching and receiving… Whether that is going to be in the form of a refund or discontinued billing, we are looking at all of those options right now.”
But Verizon said it can’t make that happen by itself. “We need the broadcasters and RSNs, and the leagues,
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