Despite the fact that all live sporting events have been canceled, cable and satellite television providers continue to charge and collect high fees for live sports programming and refuse to reduce the cost of packages that normally include live sports programming.
To hold these companies accountable, Attorney General Letitia James stepped up to the plate in order to help consumers who have fallen victim to these fees.
On April 29, James sent a letter to the companies requesting they provide financial relief for consumers amidst the coronavirus pandemic. In letters to Altice USA, AT&T Inc., Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, DISH Network, RCN Corporation and Verizon Communications, James requested that the companies immediately prepare and provide plans to the Attorney General’s Office for how they will provide financial relief to consumers until live sports programming is resumed.
“At a time when so many New Yorkers have lost their jobs and are struggling, it is grossly unfair that cable and satellite television providers would continue to charge fees for services they are not even providing,” James said. “These companies must step up and immediately propose plans to cut charges and provide much needed financial relief. This crisis has brought new economic anxiety for all New Yorkers, and I will continue to protect the wallets of working people at every turn.”
In her letter James requested that these companies prepare and provide a plan for “appropriate refunds, discounts and reductions of charges and fees, payment deferrals and waiver of termination fees, at least until live sports programming is resumed.”
With more than 1.2 million New Yorkers losing their jobs and countless more in financial hardship as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, James urged these companies to act to minimize the financial burdens on the subscribers.
