Court OKs TV rules opposed by Comcast, Cablevision
Buzz up!29 votes Send Court OKs TV rules opposed by Comcast, Cablevision - Yahoo! News
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Facebook Twitter Delicious Digg Fark Newsvine Reddit StumbleUpon Technorati Yahoo! Bookmarks .Print ..By JOELLE TESSLER, AP Technology Writer Joelle Tessler, Ap Technology Writer – Fri Mar 12, 4:11 pm ET
WASHINGTON – A federal court Friday upheld regulations that require cable TV companies to make sports programming and other channels they own available on equal terms to rival TV providers such as satellite companies.

The ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia leaves in place the Federal Communications Commission "program access" rules, which are intended to ensure that cable companies cannot withhold highly desirable programming that they own from competitors.

The rules require Comcast Corp., for instance, to make channels that it owns — including E! Entertainment, Versus and the Golf Channel — available to rivals such as DirecTV Inc., Dish Network Corp., AT&T Inc.'s U-Verse video service and Verizon's FiOS video service.

The decision was a setback for Cablevision Systems Corp. and Comcast, which were challenging the FCC's decision to extend a ban on exclusive programming contracts for five years.

Comcast has nonetheless pledged to extend the program access rules to the local NBC and Telemundo stations it would control as part of its proposed combination with NBC Universal. Comcast is seeking FCC and Justice Department approval to buy a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from General Electric Co.

Comcast said it was disappointed in Friday's ruling.

"The program access rules are based on an outdated and obsolete view of the competitive landscape," Cablevision said in a statement.

DirecTV and Verizon hailed the ruling as a win for consumers.

"This decision protects consumers' ability to view the programs they demand as they gain new choices among video providers," Verizon said in a statement. The phone company has spent billions on its new FiOS fiber-optic network to deliver video and high-speed Internet services.

The circuit court decision comes amid growing concern in Washington about the rules governing access to both broadcast programming and channels owned by cable companies.

On Sunday, after talks broke down between ABC and Cablevision over the fees the cable company would pay to air the network, the ABC station in New York pulled its signal from Cablevision, causing subscribers to miss the first 15 minutes of the Oscars. A coalition of cable, satellite and phone companies seized on the incident to ask the FCC to prohibit broadcasters from interrupting signals during negotiations or before popular events, and to mandate binding arbitration.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski told lawmakers at a hearing Thursday that the FCC would review whether existing federal regulations still make sense.

Friday's ruling is the second key victory for cable rivals in as many months when it comes to program access rules.

In January, the FCC voted to close to the so-called "terrestrial loophole," which lets cable companies get around program access rules by distributing programming over landlines rather than satellite connections.

Comcast, Cablevision and Cox Communications Inc. have relied on the loophole to deny sports programming to competitors such as DirecTV, Dish, AT&T and Verizon.

Genachowski praised Friday's ruling. "The commission's program access rules have played a vital role in making diverse and attractive video programming available to cable and satellite TV viewers," he said in a statement.


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3 users disliked this comment.Paul B Fri Mar 12, 2010 08:29 am PST Report Abuse I live here in CT. Cox will not give us the YES network, they cite MLB Rules. How come every other town in CT, except for those that are on COX have both YES and NESN and neither get blacked out. I could give a Rat's rear end about Telemundo. I want to be able to watch both the Yankees and Redsox games simultaneously on the same TV set. Why don't the regulators get into this can of worms.Replies (5) ....6 users liked this comment
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0 users disliked this comment.Jeff Fri Mar 12, 2010 08:51 am PST Report Abuse Comcast would allow some of its Comcast Sports Networks onto DirecTV, but not all. On DirecTV, I could get CSN Mid-Atlantic (Baltimore/Washington) and some other areas, but not CSN Philadelphia, because Comcast services most of the Philadelphia area and it wants all Phillies, Sixers and Flyers fans in the area to subscribe to its cable service instead of (or in addition to) DirecTV and other satellite services. I would have been willing to pay extra to get it when I had DirecTV in Arizona.Reply....14 users liked this comment
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0 users disliked this comment.Frank Fri Mar 12, 2010 08:54 am PST Report Abuse It's about time! I have DirecTV, and now I might actually be able to watch some hockey on VS.Replies (1) ....8 users liked this comment
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0 users disliked this comment.TAJ Fri Mar 12, 2010 08:55 am PST Report Abuse comcast told No, did not think that would ever happen.Reply....35 users liked this comment
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1 users disliked this comment.San Jose Olay Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:01 am PST Report Abuse I think it's a huge mistake to allow Comcast, a media distribution company to purchase NBC, a media production company. A merger between distribution and production would contribute towards unfair competition in the TV delivery business, higher consumer prices, and future business practices that are contrary to the public good. You've already seen Comcast attempt to deny satellite TV distributors content they recently purchased. That's what this article is all about. What makes anybody believe Comcast and other cable firms wouldn't exercise monopoly power exactly like AT&T used to, or like the Big-3 automakers used to before the Japanese import invasion of the 1980's?

Consumers will be the biggest losers if this merger is allowed!Reply....5 users liked this comment
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0 users disliked this comment.Patrick M Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:03 am PST Report Abuse Comcast will not release the verses channel to Direct tv. Gotta go to dish networkReplies (1) ....7 users liked this comment
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25 users disliked this comment.TMAC Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:11 am PST Report Abuse Not many remember when cable was lobbyied down our throats by lies. There would not be commercials in cable service. Remember the lies? If you don't you probably won't remember when the idiot president of the U.S.S.A. ruined the constitution of the United States. The lies....The lies.Reply....11 users liked this comment
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26 users disliked this comment.TMAC Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:12 am PST Report Abuse Not many remember when cable was lobbyied down our throats by lies. There would not be commercials in cable service. Remember the lies? If you don't you probably won't remember when the idiot president of the U.S.S.A. ruined the constitution of the United States. The lies....The lies.Reply....13 users liked this comment
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27 users disliked this comment.Marty S Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:15 am PST Report Abuse There's a lesson here. Get off your ass, be inventive, take monetary risk and the government can tell you how and where to sell your products.
How pathetic is one's life that cable programming makes a difference. Get a life.Replies (1) ....27 users liked this comment
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2 users disliked this comment.Jason Fri Mar 12, 2010 09:16 am PST Report Abuse This ruling is a major triumph for the consumer. Yes, it does take away the competitive edge of having "exclusive channels," but now prevents the cable companies from forcing you to buy their over priced packages, just to see one channel. Cablevision is notorious for pulling this dirty tactic: In order to see MSG Network, your service provider must either pay an exorbitant fee or not provide it all. Before Cablevision bought Madison Square Garden and all associated properties, MSG Network was available to all providers.
The main reason, I believe, that the cable companies did not want this ruling to go through, is that both Satellite and other challengers (FiOS, UVerse, Web-based TV) actually offer better services and picture quality. Without the exclusive channels, they know that many of the subscribers will do a mass exodus over to these other services. 45 Comments.Show: Newest FirstOldest FirstHighest RatedMost Replied ... Post a Comment .Comments 1 - 10 of 45
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