--- title: Obama Wants to End the Cable Box Ripoff description: President Obama is backing a new proposal that could eliminate the cable set-top box monopoly and save you over $200 on your cable bill. authors: - name: Kara Brandeisky url: https://money.com/author/kara-brandeisky/ at_money_since: 2014 articles: 76 covers: - Technology - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://x.com/karabrandeisky former_staff: true published: '2016-04-15T16:38:12.000Z' modified: '2024-04-16T10:39:00.000Z' section: Technology tags: - Cable TV - fees - Obama - pay TV - pubdesk word_count: 225 canonical: https://money.com/cable-box-fee-obama/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![President Barack Obama and his daughters Sasha and Malia watch the World Cup soccer game.](https://img.money.com/2016/04/5947108469_d29ffd6526_o-1.jpg) *The Obama family watching World Cup soccer.* President Obama is backing a new proposal that could save you over $200 a year on your cable bill. The Federal Communications Commission is working on a new rule that would forbid cable companies from requiring customers rent their set-up boxes directly from their providers. Renting the boxes can run upwards of $231 a year, and consumers don't have a choice between boxes. Critics say this requirement has [stifled innovation](https://money.com/tv-cable-box-monopoly-fees/) and subjected consumers to unfair fees. The price of buying a box outright could easily be less than the fees customers pay over the course of a year. President Obama plans to comment personally on the FCC's rule, [according to the *New York Times.*](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/16/us/politics/obama-set-top-boxes.html) He has also [signed an executive order](https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/04/15/executive-order-steps-increase-competition-and-better-inform-consumers) asking federal agencies to find other ways to encourage competition. ***Read next:* [Google Is Working on a Wireless Home Internet Service So You Can Dump Comcast](https://money.com/google-fiber-internet-comcast/)** "Instead of spending nearly $1,000 over four years to lease a set of behind-the-times boxes, American families will have options to own a device for much less money that will integrate everything they want — including their cable or satellite content, as well as online streaming apps — in one, easier-to-use gadget," White House economic advisors Jason Furman and Jeffrey Zients [wrote in a blog post](https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/04/15/ending-rotary-rental-phones-thinking-outside-cable-box). 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