Joyce Sanz recently called Comcast hoping to reduce the $164 each month her family pays for cable television and internet. An after-school program manager at an elementary school in Miami, Sanz wanted to trim expenses in case the economic fallout related to the coronavirus pandemic lasts months.

Sanz said she asked the Comcast customer service representative for a discount or deferred payment options. No dice. She asked to be charged the prices offered to new customers. No can do.

Finally, she spotted a specific line on her bill. “I am paying a sports fee,” she told the representative, recalling the conversation later during an interview.

“Oh, we can’t take those out” was the response, leading Sanz to the obvious question:

“If you are not giving the service, why do I have to keep paying for it?”

Comcast and other cable and satellite TV companies are still providing subscribers with sports channels, of course. Sanz can still watch Fox Sports Florida, Fox Sports Sun and ESPN. But without live games featuring the Miami Heat, Miami Marlins, or other professional and college teams, those channels have been shells of their former selves.