Court of Appeals Denies Tennis Channel

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 13th September 2013

Court of Appeals Denies Tennis Channel

epa03697588 Spanish tennis player Rafael Nadal serves a ball to Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka during their Madrid Open tennis tournament final round match at the Caja Magica pavilion in Madrid, central Spain, 12 May 2013. Nadal won 6-2 and 6-4. EPA/EMILIO NARANJO |

The Tennis Channel has suffered another setback in its long-running dispute with cable provider Comcast. The DC Court of Appeals has denied Tennis Channel a re-hearing of a court decision that found Comcast had not illegally discriminated against the channel.

The decision not to allow the appeal was issued without explanation. In a statement, Tennis Channel indicated it intends to continue pursuing the matter, with an appeal to the Supreme Court the most likely avenue.

“The U.S. Circuit Court decision today effectively strips the FCC of the ability to perform the role Congress requires,” it said. “Tennis Channel takes very seriously Congress’ goal of a fair, open marketplace where diverse, independent voices are afforded the opportunity to compete on a level playing field based on their own merit. Many in the industry have recognized that if Comcast owned Tennis Channel instead of Golf Channel, the tables would be turned. We are disappointed with this result and intend to pursue further review.”

In a hearing before the three-judge panel in May, Comcast won the right to continue placing Tennis Channel on a low-distribution sports tier while placing Comcast-owned Golf Channel and Versus (now known as the NBC Sports Network) on its basic cable package.

The dispute began in 2009 when Tennis Channel filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), saying Comcast’s refusal to place Tennis Channel on an equivalent footing with its own channels amounted to discriminatory conduct against FCC regulations. The FCC found in favor of Tennis Channel last year but the DC court overturned the decision on appeal from Comcast, saying ”the Commission could not lawfully find discrimination because Tennis offered no evidence that its rejected proposal would have afforded Comcast any benefit.”

The Tennis Channel had asked Comcast to move it from its sports tier, which has 3 million subscribers, to its basic cable offerings with 21 million subscribers. That would have given the network significantly higher revenues from per subscriber fees from Comcast, as well as the potential larger viewership and increased advertising revenue.

This latest court defeat, however, leaves it continuing to face limited distribution, affecting its sale value as it reportedly seeks a buyer.

Topics: 10sballs, Sports, Tennis, Tennis Channel