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FCC chairman offers cable sports deal, but leaves out Philadelphia
By Miriam Hill and Jeff Gelles
INQUIRER STAFF WRITERS
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission has proposed a deal with Comcast Corp. and Time Warner Inc.: If they agree to conditions that include offering their local sports programming to competitors at reasonable prices, the FCC will approve their acquisition of cable systems owned by the bankrupt Adelphia Communications.
But the proposal will change nothing in Comcast's hometown of Philadelphia, said people familiar with its details.
Viewers here could watch most Phillies, Flyers and Sixers games on TV only on cable. Unless Comcast decides to change its policy, satellite customers would continue to miss out.
The FCC's bargain would apply only to other markets. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin's goal is to bar Comcast and Time Warner from keeping local sports to themselves elsewhere, according to two FCC officials who have seen the proposal and spoke today on condition of anonymity. Details of Martin's proposal were first reported Monday by USA Today.
The proposal, similar to rules imposed on News Corp., owner of Fox News, when it acquired DirecTV in 2003, would also require Comcast and Time Warner to accept binding arbitration in disputes over how much it can charge competitors for professional sports telecasts.
Comcast's ownership of local sports channels around the country, and the possibility that it could withhold sports elsewhere as it does in Philadelphia, was among the main reasons the Adelphia deal has become something of a logjam at the FCC, the officials said.
The complex deal, worth about $17 billion, was first proposed in April 2005, and includes a swap of systems already owned by Comcast and Time Warner that would increase their footprints in major markets that they already dominate. Comcast would not comment for this story because the deal is pending. The FCC also turned down a request for comment.
Separately, the judge overseeing Adelphia's bankruptcy case today granted the company permission to sell its assets to Time Warner and Comcast.
Judge Robert Gerber of the Southern District of New York said he would approve an order to detach the asset sale from the rest of Adelphia's bankruptcy process, allowing it to be executed without the approval of an overall restructuring plan. Adelphia sought the separation to bypass creditor disputes that have slowed the company in its filing of its plan.
The sale agreement with Time Warner and Comcast had been put in jeopardy because of a July 31 deadline at which the buyers could retract their offer. The offer includes a $12.7 billion cash component and the rest as shares in Time Warner. Once complete, the acquisitions would secure Time Warner's and Comcast's status as the two biggest cable operators in the nation.
Comcast's representatives have met repeatedly with FCC commissioners and staffers to press its case, and have done the same in testimony to congressional committees weighing proposals to rewrite an exemption in program-access requirements set by Congress in the Cable Act of 1992.
The law requires a cable company that owns programming distributed by satellite to allow other pay-TV companies to carry it. But it exempts programming distributed by land-based cables or wires.
Satellite companies such as DirecTV and Echostar, and competitive cable companies such as RCN Corp., argue that the exemption was intended to encourage cable companies to invest in news coverage and other local programming.
Echoed recently by some in Congress, they say the rule should not allow a cable company to restrict rivals' access to "must-have" local sports events, as Comcast does by withholding SportsNet from the satellite carriers.
Comcast has responded by pointing out that it has not used the exemption beyond Philadelphia, where the $22-billion-a-year company is headquartered, even though it now owns similar channels in Washington, D.C., Chicago and California.
The FCC chairman apparently accepted Comcast's argument that Philadelphia should remain an exception.
"The chairman just said, 'Let's make a deal. We'll protect your crown jewel,'" one of the FCC officials said.
See how you have to look at this is David L Cohen (Comcast VP)can sucks dick better than anyone. Martin shot his load. Now the comcast crown jewel is protected. Lets see, The Flyers Suck, The Sixers Suck, and the Phillies will suck too.
What a crown jewel. The only city in the US not to provide is local sports on small
Dish. The Evil Empire Rules...........bend over and grab your ankles.
I am so glad I don't live in the Philly Team's market....
However...This is business. Businesses do what they do to make money. While it may seem unfair or unjust for Comcast to withold it's pro sports signals from E* and D*, I look at it as a good business decision..As long as Comcast breaches no contract or violates any regulation, the company is within it's rights to make sure you sub to their product to see the games...Viewers in the Philly area who think it important enough to watch their teams will go to Comcast to see them..or they can choose not to...Public protest can change this..If enough Philly Comcast subs refuse the the SportsNet or churn to Satellite, Comcast will get the message..
Other than regulatory change or Comcast policy change, Philly fans can expect the status quo..
BTW, the FCC IMO has not functioned in the public interest for decades...
FCC regulatirs had an opportunity to once and for all settle Pro Sports league's territorial issues with reagrd to blackouts ot paying cable/satellite customers..The leagues sent in their lobbyists and the FCC caved..The Commission simply punted..Nothing got done..Those bastards played it safe
I don't have a problem with businesses making money but when tax dollars were spent to build the stadiums in the city everyone should be allowed to see the teams play on TV. Philadelphia is a sh*t hole of a city. It's always been know as the city of losers, this issue just shows why. As a person who lived in this crap all my life I now get more enjoyment in seeing them lose and watching all those CSN watchers pay for nothing. For the most part CSN Philadelphians are very stupid people.
well I can agree with ya on the notion that Philly is a dumpy place...I have been in Center City and the Sports Complex areas....Now it has been a while since I have been to a sporting event in Philly..In fact the Wachovia Center was still called the First Union Center...Has the city done anything to clean up the areas around the sports venues?..All I can remember is how poorly lit the parking areas were..It seemed like a haven for muggers and other crooks just lying in wait for the sports fans heading for their cars..You really had to be alert..My friend and I were followed by a couple of guys we though were up to no good...So we split up and hid..We waited for them to start looking around and we snuck up on THEM!!!..They didn't know whether to sh*t or wind their wristwatches
I'm just glad they were a couple of 20 something punks and not armed...Although I didi have a handful of gravel ready to fire in their face if they got aggressive...Anyway....I find it intersting you are so bitter over the CSN thing that your would root against your hometown teams..It really isn't their fault you know..Oh well, to each his own..
I don't root against them. I just stopped watching. I used to be a die hard Flyers fan. Now, I might watch a small portion of the games that I could view (about 20- per season) It makes it whole lot easier though when the Flyers are as bad as they are this season.
Ryan
Ryan
The area around the stadiums is kept nice because the teams only keep there stadiums looking good. I don't think they give much for cleaning the rest of the city areas, the teams only represent the stadium area. If they do give money to the city its probably filtered into someone's pocket, after all that is the Philadelphia way.
I use to live Phillies baseball and Flyers hockey but not anymore when you can't watch them after a while you don't miss it. You have to look at it this way no matter how the teams finish Comcast always wins, and the ownership really doesn't care. Philadelphians are sucked into this company and don't realize they will never win anything, and if they are lucky to get to the playoffs national TV will carry all the games. It's easier to jump on the band wagon when they win and you never spend money on the teams.
Yes..the Flyers are bad....I have no clue what happened..That franchise has always had success..All this turmoil between Bob Clarke and the owners is porbably where it all started..
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