Cord-cutting was all the rage a few years ago, as the U.S., seemingly fed up with ever increasing costs and poor customer service, abandoned the cable apparatus that had dominated entertainment for the previous three decades.
Major cable providers lost about six million paid TV subscribers each year from 2019 to 2022, and the trend isn't slowing down. More than 2.3 million people cut the cord in the first quarter of 2023 alone, according to some estimates.
Related: Why the popular cord cutting movement may be about to self-destruct
As of the end of first-quarter 2023, U.S. pay-TV services had 75.5 million subscribers, a 7% decline on an annual basis.
And now the government wants to stop the cable industry from stopping the American people from cutting the cord with exorbitant cancellation costs.
FCC proposes to end junk-fee billing
This week Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission, announced a proposal to eliminate video-service junk-fee billing practices by cable and satellite television operators.
“No one wants to pay junk fees for something they don’t want or can’t use. When companies charge customers early termination fees, it limits their freedom to choose the service they want,” Rosenworcel said.
“In an increasingly competitive media market, we should make it easier for Americans to use their purchasing power to promote innovation and expand competition within the industry.”
The FCC argues that early contract termination fees make it costly for customers to switch services.
In addition to the proposal, the FCC also announced that it's implementing Broadband Consumer Labels — making it easy to understand how much broadband service costs — while also proposing all-in-pricing for cable and satellite services.
But now some signs indicate that the bevy of streaming options, like Disney+, Netflix and other rivals in the space, is making cord-cutting a less attractive alternative for viewers.
Hear me out: We bundle them all together, offer a discounted price, and call it cable. pic.twitter.com/P3DzHrz6aJ
— Ramp Capital (@RampCapitalLLC) August 16, 2023
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