The reason is what’s being called the “Hallmark Clause.” According to the regulations of the Council for Cable TV and Satellite Broadcasting, reported in today’s Jerusalem Post, any time a service provider decides to remove a channel from their listings, customers have the right to cancel their subscription, provided they cite the removal of the channel as the reason.

The Hallmark channel was removed last week, triggering the clause, but ironically it wasn’t HOT and YES that wanted to drop Hallmark. Hallmark’s parent – NBC Universal – pulled it off the airwaves due to lack of revenue.

Another reason you might want to consider dropping your tie to cable or satellite: there is proposed legislation that will allow the two to broadcast commercials. If advertising on Channels 2 and 10 is any indication, that means a lot of long and intrusive breaks in the middle of movies and TV shows. Yech.

Last week, the cable television provider HOT doubled its fine for early termination, from NIS 240 to NIS 480. But that’s not all. The company is charging you NIS 45 per month for the amount of service you received before your contract is up.

So, for example, if you have a two-year contract and you want to end your service after only one year. HOT will charge you NIS 45 x 12 or NIS 540 – on top of the NIS 480 cancellation fee. That’s a total of NIS 1,020!

Over at YES, the fines are already high  – at NIS 402. The monthly cancellation “extra” hasn’t been implemented, but I wouldn’t be surprised if YES can’t resist keeping up with the Hotties.

Haaretz suggests that HOT’s increases stem from the competition involving a new digital television converter which will give viewers digital quality access to the free channels (1, 2, 10, 33 and 99) for no charge. The fine increases supposedly will bandage the hemorrhaging.

My advice: check when your contract expires. If you’re getting close to the end and you want to cancel, that’s the time. With so much available online, maybe you don’t need expensive cable. And if you do decide to keep your cable or satellite access, don’t be afraid to renegotiate with your provider. We just did that with YES and got the monthly bill down NIS 25 just for inquiring about termination fees!