Why are we being charged Regional Sports Fee during Covid-19?

they have been postponed not cancelled

I'm not talking about the baseball season. I cancelled my MLB extra innings subscription but am still being charged.

I would like this removed from my bill: Regional Sports Fee$9.99 please

Contact them directly. These are just open community forums not support.

If you are referring to AT&T TV, the charge isn't optional - it is a fee charged if your selected package includes Regional Sports Networks. (So the only way to avoid the fee is choose a package that doesn't include RSNs, which I believe is only the Entertainment package.) The fee is disclsed (admittedly in fine print) in the ads and web page:

Additional Fees & Taxes: Price excludes Regional Sports Fee of up to $8.49/mo. (which is extra & applies to CHOICE and higher Pkgs), and certain other add’l fees & charges

This does show that fee as topping out at $8.49, not $9.99. If you have one of the other AT&T video services (DirecTV or U-Verse), the fee might be higher, but you would have to ask about it a forum for that service.

DTV and all other providers only collects the fees that the RSN charges they are the only ones that reduce them not the providers.

As we don't work for AT&T, the answer is we're just telling you how it is. Whether we agree with it or not isn't the question. You can certainly call 800.531.5000 and discuss.

I agree. Was just on hold for 30 minutes to discuss my bill. Way too high. Baseball package part of the reason. Had to hang up. I understand that the virus may have cut back customer service personnel. Not to mention, the website is having issues taking credit card payments. Had to call and wait awhile to make payment over phone. Just fed up. I expect to be credited for months where there was no baseball.

You mentioned above free HBO for a year. I'm s sure not getting Free HBO on DirecTV. In fact I had it added by DirecTV during the dispute with CBS without my authorization, and then they started charging me for it. 

Free HBO promotion or even for the streaming only service HBO Max for a year seem to have been a intro offer only, so not all customers.

Why are we being charged for this when Sports are not being placed due to virus right now? This fee needs to be deleted from ALL INVOICES until sports resume in the United States. I plan to delete this fee when I pay my bill for March-April 2020.

Have you not read the other post here? This has been answered several times. Have fun when your credit is damaged for non payment, late fees and collections.

These posts are for folks who accept the status quo. Don't question the govt (FCC) or big business because nothing can be changed. Right up your alley Ace.

It is not that we accept the status quo, but understand the reality. You would need to dispute with the RSNs and FCC that regulates it about the fees continuing. So long as they charge the TV providers, they will continue to list them on the bill. If they remove, or perhaps credit for the season delays, then DirecTV would have permission to adjust them.

You want to change it, that is fine. But this is not the place to do so. We can only give guidance and info, but have no way to do anything that affects your bill. This is simply a public forum.

public forums like yours influence AT&T and others - if enough people are unhappy they will take action. If not, status quo.

@Jjk As we all know, MLB has delayed the start of the 2020 season. MLB will announce the new season start date and the effects to the 2020 schedule at a future date. We are actively monitoring developments and will communicate with MLB EXTRA INNINGS subscribers regarding changes to the season schedule.

The cancellation deadline for MLB EXTRA INNINGS will be extended to reflect the delayed start of the season. Additionally, any payments already made for the 2020 MLB season will be credited to customers' accounts.

There is no need to call for the refund, and please allow 1-2 billing cycles for credit(s) to appear. Billing will restart after the MLB announces the season start.

We are also actively monitoring developments with the suspension of the NBA season and will proactively communicate with NBA League Pass subscribers regarding potential refunds/credits as events develop.

Thanks,

The AT&T Community Team

Constructive, Thank you for the info regarding MLB Extra Innings. I truly hope we do receive credit. I don't like paying for something I don't have! Better yet, I hope COVID-19 goes away & everyone gets healthy so the season can get underway!

I am new to this forum and appreciate the banter and education.  At the end of the day I am a customer who has paid for Football, Baseball, Basketball Hockey as well as Regional sport .  Perhaps ATT should consider removing RS fee as a stipulation of the package we are on, and not show those channels.   Meet your customers half way would be the smartest thing to maintain loyalty to the brand.  Absorb the fee, we have paid for 3 months of nothing, now give us 3 free months.  You can easily add a 9.99 credit to our accounts for the nex3 months.  

AT&T Official response

MLB has delayed the start of the 2020 season. MLB will announce the new season start date and the effects to the 2020 schedule at a future date. We are actively monitoring developments and will communicate with MLB EXTRA INNINGS subscribers regarding changes to the season schedule.

The cancellation deadline for MLB EXTRA INNINGS will be extended to reflect the delayed start of the season. Additionally, any payments already made for the 2020 MLB season will be credited to customers' accounts.

There is no need to call for the refund, and please allow 1-2 billing cycles for credit(s) to appear. Billing will restart after the MLB announces the season start.

We are also actively monitoring developments with the suspension of the NBA season and will proactively communicate with NBA League Pass subscribers regarding potential refunds/credits as events develop.

Thanks,

The RSN fee is not being waived currently. If that changes then they will post an announcement on their Covid-19 page. https://about.att.com/pages/COVID-19.html

Having the fee waived is not something a supervisor can override from an agent. That is because that would be a back-end business decision. If you are given a one-time credit as a courtesy, it would be nice. But right now they are keeping an eye on the situation and communicating with the various leagues.

At the moment the MLB is getting reversals of installments charged for MLB Extra Innings as the season's status is not yet final, but that has affected the RSNs yet. Remember the RSNs cover multiple leagues and other events. So long as the RSNs aren't changing their costs, then the bill remains the same.

@Constructive Unfortunately, that has nothing to do with the OP’s question.

No, there is no way to waive the RSN fee to my knowledge. My RSN channel may not have any live sports, but they still have programming available 24 hours a day. There isn’t anything worth watching on ESPN or any of the other sports networks either, yet they all still have something on and we sure aren’t getting any credit for them.

@sandblaster

Well it in general does, but could have been clarified that is all they are doing (as of right now) and RSNs are not yet included.

Only the seasonal sport subscriptions are getting any accommodation at this time. The RSNs associated with them do not. Situation is being monitored and any further updates will be announced as they happen.

I have the same question. I paid for the ICE Package for the full season of NHL. There is no NHL being played. Why don't we get a rebate on the price of this sports package. I also pay for the regional sports channels and since no sports why are we still being charged for them?

Just because there's little live sports right now doesn't mean that DirecTV and other providers don't still have to pay to deliver those channels. If you want to drop them you can change to channel package without sports channels.

Easy answer is because the RSN's are still charging for their feeds the same with all providers

The answer is because you still get the RSNs and sports are still being shown. The fee is not guaranteeing that you always have access to current season games. As long as you have the channels, which are providing classic matches and other regional events, the fee stands.

Simple answer: You still get the RSNs, you still pay for them. There is still content on them.

But hopefully a negotiation with those sports leagues would end up with a later off set of the cost, as suggested by the article @nabukl mentioned.

Thanks. The article provides a rationale for the charge, however not a good reason for paying for basically nothing. My choices are continue as is or seek alternatives.

I have sports pack and regional sports why am i charged for this when there are no sports.