Comcast's Price Increases Bring 'Hidden' Fees to Stunning Heights

The cable and internet giant advertises one price, then tacks on a stack of mandatory extra fees.

Imagine that when you leased a car, the dealer advertised a price of $199 a month but when you got your bill, you were charged $19 for a wheels fee, $12 to rent the radio, and another $15 in mandatory engine fees. 

It's all legal because it was in the fine print -- but the TV commercials and website ads trumpeted the $199 number without mentioning that nobody actually pays that price.

That's an extreme example, but it's pretty much what Comcast (CMCSA) - Get Free Report does to its customers. The cable and internet giant advertises one price in big print and then charges another. This isn't an accident; it's a planned tactic where the company wants to present itself as a better value than it actually is.

This thinking comes from the company's early days, when it had a legal monopoly on offering cable. Towns and cities literally signed deals giving Comcast exclusive cable rights in exchange for the company building out needed infrastructure.

Technology eventually busted the company's cable monopoly, since anyone can cut the cord and opt for streaming services for entertainment. On the internet side, growing rivals like T-Mobile's (TMUS) - Get Free Report home 5G service and Elon Musk's Starlink offer alternatives, but they're inferior products to traditional cable-based internet.

That puts Comcast in a position where it's still the best choice for many people. But, how much extra per year do those customers pay in added fees once they're all added up?

Comcast Recently Raised its Fees

Comcast charges a startling array of fees in addition to its basic monthly price. These fees are mandatory, and customers can't opt out of them.

The most egregious Comcast fees are the broadcast-TV fee, which is rising 21% to $23.20 from $19.15; and its regional-sports fee, which will jump 15% to $17.25 from $15, according to customer bills.

These fees pay for channels that are part of your cable bundle. Broadcast TV is the ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox networks while the regional-sports fee covers access to regional-sports networks. 

It's hard to argue that the major networks should not simply be part of the basic price. The regional-sports fee, however, would make sense if customers could opt out of those channels. They can't.

The regional sports fee was $3 a month back in 2016, according to PennLive. So, while inflation has been a major thing in grocery stores over the past few years, few items have seen their prices rise by a factor of nearly six in seven years.

Those, however, are not the only fees Comcast charges. Customers must rent a cable box and remote control for every television they plan to use cable on. The cost of that has gone up 18% to $10 a month from $8.50. That's basically four times the price of a basic Roku  (ROKU) - Get Free Report or Amazon Fire  (AMZN) - Get Free Report streaming player each year.

Comcast also charges customers $15 a month to rent a modem.

How Much Do Comcast's Fees Add Up to?

While none of these fees is a big number, they all add up quickly, and when looked at yearly, they're staggering:

• Broadcast fee: $278.40
• Regional-sports fee: $207
• Cable box/remote (per TV): $120
• Modem rental: $180
• Total annual fees: $785

So, the typical Comcast customer pays a minimum of $785 per year in added fees. In reality, the actual numbers are worse because most customers have multiple TVs. So if you have two TVs requiring a box and remote, your total will be $905 while three TVs will set you back $1,025 each year.