By a 3-2 party-line vote, the Federal Communications Commission on Thursday approved a report and order that would require cable and satellite pay TV operators to publish in their advertising and on customer bills the actual total price of their video service, so-called junk fees included.
The FCC's new “all-in pricing” order will “require cable operators and DBS providers to state the aggregate cost of video programming (that is, any and all amounts that the provider charges the consumer for video programming, including for broadcast retransmission consent, regional sports programming, and other programming-related fees) as a clear, easy-to-understand and accurate single line item in promotional materials, if a price is included in those promotional materials, and on subscribers’ bills,” the FCC says in a fact sheet published in February.
