Over half of all cable subscribers would ditch their provider if they could

Frustrated with rising prices? Check. Keep getting hit with more fees and charges? Check. You’re paying for more channels than you’d ever want to watch? Check. These are just a handful of the most common complaints consumers have when it comes to grappling with cable companies. And it’s not just anecdotal: A survey of subscribers on the nation’s biggest cable providers has found that more than half of Americans would abandon their cable provider if they felt they could. Cable rage is real, and here’s the data to prove it. Fifty-three percent of respondents to a recent survey said they’d leave their current cable company — if they had a choice. But as many as 70 percent said their options are too limited, according to the study by consulting group cg42. The list of options may soon narrow even further with several impending mergers, such as the proposed deal between Comcast and Time Warner Cable, as well as the acquisition of DirecTV by AT&T (not a cable merger but one that would eliminate a player in the wider pay-TV market). Consumers pushed back against those agreements, with 72 percent saying that the larger the cable companies become, the worse off consumers will be.