How to avoid paying $6 a month for just one channel

What if you had to pay for food each month that you would never eat? You might be wasting money in the same way on your cable bill.

Are you a sports fan who never touches the music channels? Or on the flip side, perhaps you're obsessed with cooking shows but never tune into any games. Well, those channels still cost you. In fact, some of the most expensive channels cost you $6 each a month whether you watch them or not.

Data from research firm SNL Kagan has detailed how much cable providers pay top networks each month, with the most expensive channel, ESPN, priced at $6.04. The top 10 channels, including ESPN, have a total price of $45.

And of course, those costs are passed on to subscribers like you, says Benjamin Feldman, head of content strategy at ReadyForZero, an online service to help people manage and reduce debt, and creator of the Smart Money Debate series which tackles financial topics.

“If you want to still have cable but not pay too much, there are plenty of things you can do to keep the costs down,” he says.

Continue reading to learn why these stations are so expensive and how to avoid paying for them.

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Why Some Channels Are More Expensive

In your high school economics class, you might have learned about the law of supply and demand. If people want what you're providing, they will pay a higher price for it.

“Some of these channels are able to charge cable providers much more, because they have leverage because people want to watch them,” Feldman says. For instance, with rights to highly watched events such as Monday Night Football, ESPN can use that to their advantage when negotiating with cable providers.

Cable providers such as Comcast and Time Warner know that their customers are going to demand ESPN, so there’s not much they can do about the price, says Feldman. They pay it and pass those prices onto their customers, he explains.

Also, cable providers bundle certain stations together, resulting in a higher price for the consumer, says Feldman. For example, ESPN is part of the Disney Company, and cable providers bundle Disney ($1.21 per customer) with ESPN2 (74 cents) and ESPN ($6.04), he says.

Interested in how much the other top channels cost? Here are the top 10 networks and the estimated price for cable providers each month, according to SNL research:

• ESPN: $6.04

• TNT: $1.48

• 3net: $1.37

• NFL Network: $1.22

• Disney Channel: $1.21

• FOX News: $0.99

• USA: $0.83

• ESPN 2: $0.74

• TBS: $0.72

• FOX Sports 1: $0.68

How to Avoid Paying for Expensive Cable Channels

After a hard day at work, you like to relax on your comfy couch and turn on your television for some entertainment. You probably have your go-to shows and networks, but what about those channels you never watch? Well, if you ditch them, you could rack up some serious savings. How?

First, monitor your TV viewing for one week, writing down how often you really watch those expensive channels such as ESPN, says Marsha Barnes, founder of Financial Empowerment, an organization in North Carolina providing financial education.

“In the end, if you figure out that you don’t watch those channels, then you need to call your cable provider and see what options they have. Chop it down to the basic channels, and you can save so much money depending on the plan you pay for now,” says Barnes.

So how much does basic cable cost? As of September 2014, Time Warner’s website quotes $19.99 for 20 channels with FOX, ABC, TBS, and PBS, or $29.99 for those channels plus HBO.

Another cost-saving tactic is to opt for a sports-free package from your cable company, says Feldman. However, this type of package may not be advertised, so you have to contact your cable provider and ask about your options, he says.

For those who can get satellite TV in their area, DirecTV offers 150 channels for $29.99 which includes channels such as HBO, Showtime, and Cinemax, although offerings may vary by location, according to DirecTV’s website as of September 2014. If you're a big football fanatic, the same package offers DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket at no extra cost.

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Another option is to venture away from traditional cable TV completely and subscribe to streaming websites such as Netflix or Hulu Plus, which are less than $10 a month, says Barnes.

But if you can't live without cable, how can you get the most affordable package possible?

It might be simpler than you think. Call your cable or satellite TV company to discuss your options and get a better deal, says Michelle Dosher, managing editor for marketing and consumer education at Credit Union National Association in Madison, Wisconsin.

“If you don’t get the answer you want from the first person, then ask for a supervisor or someone that can make decisions. We often get the frontline customer service staff, and they might not be able to offer a certain discount,” Dosher says.

Sometimes, you can pick and choose what channels you want, depending on the company, she adds.

“Basically, just tell them that you’ve been looking around and you could get a better deal somewhere else, but you don’t want the hassle of switching. Then just be quiet and see what the company might offer,” Dosher says.

While it can be frustrating, it is up to you to make the call, she explains. "The company isn’t going to call you and say, ‘Hey, you can save $40 a month by switching to this plan.’ That’s not going to happen- you have to do it.”