Cable companies face probe of overcharging claims

Federal regulators are investigating claims by a consumer group that cable companies are exploiting broadcast television’s digital transition to overcharge subscribers.

The probe announced by Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin follows a complaint from Consumers Union. The publisher of Consumer Reports magazine said last week that Comcast Corp. and other cable companies are moving some channels to a digital service, forcing consumers to pay more.

“Many consumers may have been misled that they’re having to make the switch over to digital as a result of the digital broadcast television transition, but that’s not something that’s true,” Martin told reporters today in Washington at the agency’s monthly meeting.

The agency is “asking cable operators to tell us what they were informing their customers about any changes they were making,” Martin said.

“Were they still charging them the same rate as they were charging them before, even though they removed channels from their package?” Martin said.

Consumers who previously didn’t need a set-top box must rent one at a monthly cost of $4 to $10 per TV to keep receiving channels that are moved to digital, Joel Kelsey, a Consumers Union analyst based in Washington, said in an interview last week..

Packages of digital channels generally offer more programming at a higher monthly cost than basic channel packages that rely on traditional analog signals.

Comcast spokeswoman Sena Fitzmaurice in an e-mailed statement last week said that with digital lineups, “consumers will benefit because we will give them equipment for no additional charge” and more program choice.