FCC Seeks Comment on "All-In" Pricing for Cable and Satellite TV

Access to clear, easy-to-understand, and accurate information about the pricing of video services helps consumers make informed choices and encourages competition in the market. It does so by empowering consumers with information to comparison shop and to find the video programming services that best meets their needs and matches their budget. Consumers who choose a video service based on an advertised monthly price may be surprised by unexpected fees related to the cost of video programming that raise the amount of the bill significantly. These fees, with names like broadcast TV fee, or regional sports programming surcharge, are listed in the fine print as “fees” or “taxes and surcharges,” separate from the top-line listed service price and can result in a bill that is substantially more than the advertised price. In this Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), the FCC proposes to enhance pricing transparency by requiring cable operators and direct broadcast satellite (DBS) providers to specify the “all-in” price for service in their promotional materials and on subscribers’ bills. This proposal would require cable operators and DBS providers to clearly and prominently display the total cost of video programming service. This all-in pricing proposal is intended to give consumers a transparent and accurate reflection of their subscription payment obligations and eliminate unexpected fees. It also seeks to provide consumers with the ability to comparison shop among competing cable operators and DBS providers, and to compare programming costs against alternative programming providers, including streaming services. The FCC also seeks comment on whether it should consider expanding the requirements of this proceeding to other types of multichannel video programming providers (MVPDs) and on our authority to do so.