Oklahoma Judge says OK for Cable Companies to force cable box rental fees

[dmcowen674]

11-13-2015

Cox Can Still Force You to Rent a Cable Box, Judge Declares


A federal judge in Oklahoma says that the consumers who sued Cox didn't do enough to prove that the company did anything wrong.

"While the Court agrees with Plaintiff that Cox required a customer to rent a set-top box in order to obtain premium cable, there simply is no evidence from which a reasonable jury could determine that that arrangement led to a foreclosure of commerce," U.S. District Judge Robin Cauthron wrote in her ruling.

The cable industry's stranglehold over the set top box rental market has been growing somewhat tenuous in the face of Internet video and efforts to open up the market to outside hardware competition. A recent survey by Senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal found that set top box competition is virtually nonexistent, with 99% of cable customers renting a cable box. The average household will spend up to $231 per year on set-top rental fees, the study found.

Cox, as you might imagine, was happy with the ruling

[dmcowen674]

Obviously the Cable Industry paid that Judge off.

Absolutely horrible to be a consumer in the United States in this day and age.

[BoFox]

Simple: boycott cable like I did, after I lost over $400 to Verizon FIOS HD DVR set top box in less than 2 years, that I hardly ever used for recording.

Most TV shows suck anyway - sometimes all channels just completely suck. It's like listening to the radio these days instead of mp3's on your phone or youtube.