No Sports On TV..But You're Still Paying for It

NY Post

Americans shell out nearly $20 a month in pay-TV fees to watch sports programming, but the main attractions—live events—are all canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

So can you get a refund? In short, no, The Wall Street Journal reports.

WSJ Graphics

Pay-TV providers say they are still paying to carry sports channels in their packages despite the lack of live games, so they are just passing on the cost to customers. Several large providers said they would issue rebates if entire sports seasons are canceled—right now they are technically suspended—depending on the refunds they get from the networks.

“Networks continue to charge the cable company full price for sports programming, since leagues believe sports will take place again,” a spokesman for Cox Communications Inc. said. Representatives of Comcast Corp., Charter Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc.’s DirecTV took a similar view.

For now, that $20 will buy you reruns of classic games and documentaries.

Industry analysts have said pay-TV providers that keep charging customers for nonexistent sports content risk losing them to less expensive internet-TV bundles or streaming services—a phenomenon known as cord-cutting.