Time Warner Cable must carry NFL Network for at least another 30 days on systems recently acquired from Adelphia Communications and Comcast under terms of a reinstatement order issued by the Federal Communications Commission Thursday.

But Time Warner issued a statement after release of the FCC decision that suggested it had no plans to restore immediately the NFL Network to about 1 million subscribers that had access to the channel just a few days ago.

“Time Warner Cable is currently reviewing the FCC’s order regarding the NFL Network.This order was issued without offering us the opportunity to respond to the NFL Network’s allegations.We believe the FCC’s decision is wrong and we are considering our options,” said Time Warner Cable spokesman Mark Harrad.

The FCC ruling -- released just two days after the agency received the NFL Network’s complaint -- said restoration of carriage on an interim basis was appropriate because Time Warner Cable dropped the network without giving subscribers 30 days notice as required by FCC rules.

“We appreciate the FCC’s speedy action in response to our petition, and are gratified that the [FCC] has acted to protect the interests of cable consumers -- and NFL fans -- throughout the country,” the NFL said in a statement.

The FCC said it ruled against Time Warner because the NFL demonstrated that it would likely prevail when the agency takes a deeper look at the league’s complaint over the next few weeks.

“We find that the NFL has a reasonable prospect of showing that Time Warner’s actions, which affected millions of customers across the nation residing within numerous franchise authorities’ jurisdiction, constitute systemic abuses that undermine the statutory objectives,” FCC Media Bureau chief Donna Gregg wrote in a four-page order.

The FCC said Time Warner’s abrupt cutoff inflicted injury because it denied consumers sufficient time to find another pay-TV provider that carried the NFL Network and because it hurt the NFL Network on the eve the pre-season game schedule when “viewership patterns for the coming season (where to watch pre-game and post-game shows) are established ...”

Time Warner has said it did not have a legal right to carry the NFL Network on the acquired cable systems, but the NFL told the FCC that it had given the cable company permission to carry the channel for 30 days. About one-third of the 3.3 million subscribers that Time Warner acquired in the Adelphia merger had access to the NFL Network.


http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6359223.html