Why do TV prices go up every year?

Click here to see our updated 2025 TV Price Increase blog

TV prices start with the TV content providers (broadcasters like CBS, FOX, Disney (including ABC, ESPN), NBCUniversal, etc.). And Pay TV providers (ex. Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV, Dish, Hulu Live, YouTube TV, etc.) pay to distribute that content in the form of re-transmission fees (aka broadcast & regional sports fees).

Content providers’ expenses rise as professional athletes’ salaries keep going up, actor fees and production costs of shows and movies keep going up. And other operational expenses keep going up too. Bottom line: these expenses are passed directly to the consumer’s TV prices via fees. The Xfinity 2025 monthly price for the Broadcast TV Fee increased to $39 in the Denver Metro area. That is just 1 fee of many. Its now estimated that 40% of your Cable TV bill is fees.

Why Cable TV prices will keep rising

In short, Cable TV prices are never going back down, they will continue to exponentially increase like they have been for decades. Ongoing Cable TV price increases can be simplified into a math problem.

• TV content prices continue to rise, this is nothing new, its been happening for decades.
• 7 million people per year are Cutting The Cord and cancelling Cable or Satellite. This is new in the last 3-5 years and it’s getting worse year over year.
• Comcast Xfinity, DirecTV and Dish have a lot less subscribers in 2025 to pay for all of these ongoing TV content price increases – they have no choice but to increase prices for remaining customers. Sadly they do this with misinformation, bait and switch pricing and using sneaky fees, a long with channel blackouts.

Put $1500 per year back in your pocket.

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Which TV channels are most expensive?

Local Networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX), RSNs, Cable Sports & Cable News (in this order) continue to be the most expensive channels. Repeatedly, disputes on the cost of these broadcast (aka re-transmission) fees result in permanent or temporary channel blackouts.

Live TV Streaming Services with locals will raise prices too

Some think that Live TV Streaming options like YouTube TV, Hulu Live, DirecTV Stream are the answer to save money. They are not. Any Live TV streaming service that has local channels is going to be more expensive, since local networks are the most expensive channels…

The FCC gives you local network TV for Free!

IMPORTANT: The FCC sponsored program and the Communications Act, protects consumers so that all major local network channels remain free via an over-the-air device. In the Metro Denver area, 80+ local network channels are 100% free forever with a properly installed and configured whole home HD Antenna! StreamWise Solutions understands this, which is why we offer solutions that focus on maximum freedom, flexibility and savings.