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DirecTV Formally Asks For Access To Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
DBS Provider Would Not Say Whether It Will File Complaint With FCC
John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 6/25/2010 11:29:14 AM
DirecTV has requested access to Comcast's terrestrially delivered regional sports network in Philadelphia.
"We have formally requested the programming," said DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer.
He had no comment on whether DirecTV would file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission if the cable company did not make Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia available.
"[We] received their request and will review in due course and respond accordingly," said Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick. He would not elaborate.
The request follows the FCC's notice that the complaint-process portion of its January decision to close the so-called terrestrial exemption had been approved and that that process was open for business.
The FCC in January changed its rules to say that distributors who did not make their co-owned terrestrially delivered nets available to competitors on reasonable terms and conditions would be presumptively in violation of its program access rules. Before that the FCC had exempted terrestrial nets, in most cases it was regional sports nets (RSNs) at issue, because of language in the statute that specified the access rules applied to satellite-delivered networks.
In advance of the OMB sign-off announcement, Cox agreed to start negotiating with AT&T and others in San Diego and AT&T made its own formal request for MSG Networks HD programming in Connecticut. But AT&T was not reluctant to add a sting to the tail. It gave Cablevision and MSG 10 days to begin negotiating before it would ask the FCC to make them. Cablevision issued no comment in response to the AT&T letter.
Also part of the FCC's decision was that operators could not satisfy the access requirement by making standard-definition feeds available, but not HD feeds, as is the case with MSG in Connecticut.
Cablevision has challenged the FCC's program access rules in court, Comcast has not and told legislators at a Hill hearing on the Comcast/NBCU deal that it has no plans to do so.
In written answers to Sen. Al Franken on the issue of access to affiliated nets, Comcast chairman Brian Roberts said that it was ready to make Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia available to DirecTV as soon as the satellite operator made its exclusive Sunday Ticket package avaiable to Comcast and others.
Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia is already available to competing cable operators. RCN has carried the net since its launch in 1997 and Verizon's FiOS since that service launched in Philadelphia, according to Fitzpatrick.
Thanks, AntAltMike.
The request is through the FCC's process for requesting programming that has not been available. If Comcast does not comply, the next step is to the FCC, and it appears the FCC will have a bit more to say this go around.
What does this mean? It came from the article.
Also part of the FCC's decision was that operators could not satisfy the access requirement by making standard-definition feeds available, but not HD feeds
If SD and HD does not satisfy the acess requirment. What does
It means any of the parties(Comcast,Cablevison and the likes) can not satisfy the requirement of access by making the SD feed the sole feed available.
SD & HD both have to made available for a negotiated price.
What does this mean? It came from the article.
Also part of the FCC's decision was that operators could not satisfy the access requirement by making standard-definition feeds available, but not HD feeds
If SD and HD does not satisfy the acess requirment. What does
It means any of the parties(Comcast,Cablevison and the likes) can not satisfy the requirement of access by making the SD feed the sole feed available.
SD & HD both have to made available for a negotiated price.
Comcast is in talks with DirecTV and Dish Network about carriage of its regional sports net in Philly, according to sources
familiar with those talks.
The negotiations do not come as a big surprise. Both satellite carriers formally asked the Federal Communications Commission for access to Comcast Philadelphia, which televises Philadelphia Phillies MLB games, Philadelphia 76ers NBA contests and Philadelphia Flyers NHL match-ups. in the wake of the Federal Communications Commission's decision earlier this year that terrestrially delivered networks were not de facto excluded from complaints about access to distributor-owned programming (the so-called terrestrial exemption).Comcast holds a majority stake in Comcast-Spectacor, which owns the 76ers and Flyers.
Comcast has long argued that it would make the RSN available to DBS providers, as it already does to cable and telco competitors -- FiOS and RCN -- when they make exclusive programming, like DirecTV-s Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market NFL games, available to Comcast. The FCC's rule change prompted the carriage talks.
A source said talks are ongoing, but that Comcast is still not inclined to make the programming available. Moreover, even if it does, not without conditions of carriage that would make it more palatable to the company.
A Comcast spokesperson declined comment.
A DirecTV spokesman confirmed that the company had made a formal request for access, but said the company was "waiting to hear back." Asked if that meant the company was not in discussions, he declined comment.
Officials at Dish were not available at press time.
I am confused. I watch Phils games all of the time on the CSN Phil feed on DirecTV. That means Direct already carries this channel
D* is NOT giving them ST access, but curiously the article mentioned the Sat companies ..... Dish has NOTHING to give Comcast as far as a ST type item, why are they fighting DISH getting it ?
DISH doesn't do the MLB package anyways, so they would not gain anything anyways and football is out for them as well.