Dish to File Complaint Against Comcast for Blocking Philadelphia Sports
Dish Network Corp. Files Complaint Against Comcast Corp.
Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
A Dish Network Corp. receiver is attached to the side of a home. Dish Network Corp. plans to file a complaint with U.S. regulators against Comcast Corp. for withholding access to Philadelphia professional sports telecasts from the satellite operator.
A Dish Network Corp. receiver is attached to the side of a home. Dish Network Corp. plans to file a complaint with U.S. regulators against Comcast Corp. for withholding access to Philadelphia professional sports telecasts from the satellite operator. Photographer: Matthew Staver/Bloomberg
Dish Network Corp. plans to file a complaint with U.S. regulators against Comcast Corp. for withholding Philadelphia professional sports telecasts from the satellite operator.
Comcast “has refused to enter into good-faith discussions” after receiving a request for access to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, Englewood, Colorado-based Dish said in an e-mailed statement. Dish plans to file a complaint with the U.S. Federal Communications Commission, it said.
There’s no evidence Dish has suffered the competitive harm needed to succeed with a claim before the FCC, a Comcast spokesman, Tim Fitzpatrick, said in an e-mailed message. “We remain willing to discuss carriage” of SportsNet Philadelphia with Dish, Fitzpatrick said.
Philadelphia-based Comcast’s withholding of sports from satellite rivals has become an issue in its proposed merger with General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal. Dish in a filing called the practice an abuse of market power, and DirecTV said withholding SportsNet Philadelphia gives Comcast an unfair advantage.
In January, the FCC made it easier to challenge cable companies for withholding programming. The agency said Dish and DirecTV lost viewers in Philadelphia because they can’t show Phillies baseball, Eagles football and Flyers hockey.
Jen Howard, an FCC spokeswoman, declined to comment.
DirecTV is waiting to hear back from Comcast regarding its request for carriage, said Darris Gringeri, a spokesman for the El Segundo, California-based company, the largest U.S. satellite operator.
SportsNet Philadelphia
Because Comcast withholds SportsNet Philadelphia, the percentage of households with TV that subscribe to satellite service in the city was 40 percent less than what could otherwise be expected, the FCC calculated in 2006. Philadelphia, the fourth-largest U.S. television market, has about 3 million homes with television, according to market researcher Nielsen Co.
Comcast rose 34 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $19.47 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Dish gained 19 cents to $20.08, while DirecTV climbed 45 cents to $37.16.
Comcast offers SportsNet Philadelphia to other rivals including Herndon, Virginia-based RCN Corp., which competes with Comcast in regions including the Philadelphia suburbs, and to Verizon Communication’s FiOS TV product.
Comcast’s proposed $28 billion takeover of NBC Universal would give it control of TV stations owned and operated by the network as well as NBC’s cable channels and a movie studio. The FCC and the U.S. Justice Department are reviewing the deal.
Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News, has filed papers opposing the merger as it is currently proposed.
To contact the reporters on this story: Kelly Riddell in Washington at kriddell1@bloomberg.net; Todd Shields in Washington at tshields3@bloomberg.net
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