Fees increasing to $30 for television service

Rochester, New York – This month, Charter Spectrum is increasing television service fees.

Spectrum customers will see increased broadcast television and equipment fees on March 18. The reaction has been intense and critical of the cable giant, which falls in line with most rate hikes over the last five years. Equipment fees will increase by $1 per month. Broadcast television fees will increase by more than $3 per month.

Charter Spectrum told customers about the rate increases in a letter earlier this year.

According to the letter, the broadcast television surcharge would increase to $21 per month. Equipment fees for high-definition boxes would increase from $8.99 to $9.99. These fees will total around $30 per month for all customers.

According to the cable giant, it’s a simple matter of costs increasing on the business side, which requires passing along fees to customers.

“As a direct result of local broadcast, or ‘network-affiliated’ TV stations in re ent years dramatically increasing the rates to Charter Communications to distribute their signals to our customers, we’re forced to pass those charges on as a ‘Broadcast TV Surcharge’,” the cable giant says. “These local TV signals were historically made available to us at no cost or low cost. However, in recent years the prices demanded by local broadcast TV stations have necessitated that we pass these costs on to customers.”