TVFreedom bashes Comcast, other pay-TV operators with new poll

An online poll commissioned by the Washington lobbying group TVFreedom reinforces the negative perceptions of cable and satellite giants that provide tens of millions of consumers with television.

According to the online poll in late December of 2,047 adults, "Nearly one in two Americans portray pay-TV providers as greedy businesspeople, who are making the experience relatively unaffordable."

Set-top box fees are too high, according to respondents. One in four said they had an unsatisfactory customer service experience.

Perhaps the most universal gripe: "Nearly everyone agrees that ideally in the event of [a pay-TV] outtage, the provider should provide some kind of rebate on the monthly bill." Ninety-two percent of respondents thought so.

Only 40 percent believed that the pay-TV industry was innovative.

TVFreedom is a Washington group that lobbies for over-the-air TV broadcasters. Harris Poll conducted the poll. The results were released as TV broadcasters and pay-TV providers are locked in a regulatory battle at the Federal Communications Commissoin over retransmission fees, which are leading to higher pay-TV cable bills.

TV stations charge Comcast, DirecTV and others the retrans fees to carry local news and prime-time ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox network shows into subscriber homes.

Retrans fees and live sports are the two fastest-growing parts of cable bills. AT&T has said that retrans fees amounted to $6.3 billion in 2015. A decade ago, they were $200 million.

TV stations would like to preserve the retrans fees and their bargaining power to negotiate for them. Pay-TV operators would like to curb retrans fee growth.

The American Television Alliance and the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, which represent pay-TV distributors in Washington, declined to comment.

Both Comcast and Charter Communications have said they would improve customer service through hiring thousands of additional employees.