The Citizens Utility Board has released its first guide to help TV viewers cut costs.
The guide comes in response to public opinion polls that show Illinois consumers want lower cable and satellite TV bills.
“It’s obvious Illinois consumers are hungry for changes in the pay-TV industry, but reforms usually don’t come quickly,” CUB Executive Director David Kolata said. “CUB’s guide focuses on what consumers can do today to help reduce their bills.”
CUB’s “Guide to Cutting Your TV Costs” includes tips on how consumers can reduce TV bills and details the pros and cons of various market choices.
Illinois consumers can visit www.cubcablecenter.com to receive a free copy of the guide.
CUB, a nonprofit utility watchdog created by the Illinois Legislature, examined whether public polling supported consumer comments about cable service it had heard for decades.
In the fall, the consumer group conducted a series of Google Consumer Surveys from randomly selected Illinoisans ages 25 and older. Each question was asked independently and had at least 1,000 respondents among people surfing the internet to read online content.
The margin of error is no greater than 3.1 percent.
One of the surveys revealed that 75 percent of respondents with a pay-TV service said their bills were too expensive.
Another survey found that 76.6 percent of customers who have “cut the cord” said they left their previous cable/satellite company because of high bills. Illinois consumers also said they strongly support a series of reforms in the industry that would amount to a “Cable Customer’s Bill of Rights.”
For information on the study, call 800-669-5556 or visit www.citizensutilityboard.org.