FCC: Complaints about cable, satellite TV service jump 19% in Q3 2011

The FCC says the number of formal complaints it received from cable and satellite TV subscribers about service, billing, programming and other issues jumped by 19 percent during the third quarter.

Click here for detailed numbers from the FCC report.

In addition to complaints and inquiries related to billing and programming, the FCC said Tuesday that it received complaints involving the conversion from analog to digital TV, marketing materials, and access to closed-captioning programming. It also received inquiries and informal complaints related to the Satellite Home Viewer Act, which allows DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and Dish Network (Nasdaq: DISH) subscribers to access local TV programming.

Consumers filed 623 informal complaints at the FCC during August, compared to 554 complaints in July and 486 in August. It received a total of 575 complaints involving service during the third quarter and 437 complaints involving billing and rates during the period. Programming issues yielded 390 complaints. The FCC received 147 complaints involving disability and access, and 114 complaints related to marketing and advertising materials from cable and satellite providers during Q3.

For more:
- see the FCC report (PDF)

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