Syracuse, N.Y. -- New York Attorney General Letitia James called Wednesday on major cable and satellite television providers to cut their fees for live sports programming that customers aren’t getting during the coronavirus pandemic.

“At a time when so many New Yorkers have lost their jobs and are struggling, it is grossly unfair that cable and satellite television providers would continue to charge fees for services they are not even providing,” James said in a statement.

Representatives of the two largest pay-TV companies in Central New York -- Spectrum and Verizon -- said they continue to charge the fees because sports channels have not reduced what they charge the services.

Cable and satellite TV subscribers pay up to $20 a month in extra fees to access live sporting events, according to James. Despite the fact that all live sporting events in the country have been halted, subscribers are still being forced to pay those fees, she said.

“These companies must step up and immediately propose plans to cut charges and provide much needed financial relief,” said James. “This crisis has brought new economic anxiety for all New Yorkers, and I will continue to protect the wallets of working people at every turn.”

In letters to Altice USA, AT&T Inc., Charter Communications (Spectrum), Comcast Cable, DISH Network, RCN Corporation and Verizon Communications (FIOS), James asked the companies to immediately prepare and provide plans to her office for how they will provide financial relief to consumers until live sports programming is resumed.

Sports channels like ESPN are showing reruns of classic games and even sports video game simulations in the absence of live sports. But James said that’s not the programming that consumers bargained for, calling it inappropriate to require people to pay for “the ghost of a service that they contracted for.”

The letters ask the companies to voluntarily drop fees but hint that the AG’s office could take legal action against them if they do not.

James said TV providers may contend that certain provisions of residential contracts state that the service has no obligation to provide any particular programming service or channel and do not, in effect, guarantee live sports programming. However, such provisions "do not envision the current situation, she said.

“Channels may change, and particular programs or events may be changed, canceled or deferred,” she said. “Customers understand this. Here, however, an entire category of programming is no longer available, and applying those contractual provisions to this circumstance is leading to unexpected and unfair results for consumers.”

She also called on the companies to drop any termination fees for customers who wish to cancel their service because of economic hardship or because the service no longer includes the programming they are paying for.

Representatives for Spectrum and Verizon said they are seeking fee reductions from the providers of sports programming because of the current lack of live sports and will pass any savings onto customers.

“Ultimately, this is a decision for the leagues, teams and networks to resolve, but we have consistently said that to the extent we receive any rebates for canceled sports programming, we of course will pass it along to our customers,” Spectrum spokesperson Lara Pritchard said.

David Weissmann, a spokesperson for Verizon, said the company “has been advocating for its customers and negotiating with programmers to create a customer-first solution to address the current environment.”

“We call on programmers and the sports leagues to cooperate with us to create a solution that provides relief to customers until live sports return to television,” he said.

DISH Network, which also serves Central New York customers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

MORE ON CORONAVIRUS

Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources

Cuomo on reopening after coronavirus: Keep hospital beds free, transmission rate low

Coronavirus economy: New Yorkers going weeks with no job, no call from unemployment

NY State Fair won’t happen unless whole state can reopen: ‘Breaks my heart,’ Cuomo says

Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com

Rick Moriarty covers business news and consumer issues. Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact him anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148