Set-top rental suit against Insight Communications allowed to proceed

A federal judge says it's OK for two Insight Communications subscribers to sue the MSO because they had to rent cable boxes for $15.95 a month to access pay-per-view and other services.

The subscribers' suit said they should be able to buy their own boxes from an electronics manufacturer. Insight asked that the suit be dismissed because it couldn't be proved it was forcing the subs to rent the boxes and it is awaiting an FCC ruling on the set-top box issue. U.S. District Judge Joseph McKinley disagreed and said let the antitrust claim proceed.

In other Insight news, while the company has not officially conceded it's on the auction block, sources are now saying that Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC), Charter Communications (Nasdaq: CHTR) and Suddenlink Communications have been invited to participate in the auction.

For more:
- the Courier-Journal has this story
- Telegeography has this story

Related articles:
Court news I: Insight subscribers sue to buy cable boxes
Insight Communications said to be on the auction block for $4B