Tennis Channel Asks Supreme Court To Look At Comcast Case

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 6th December 2013

Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis

Tennis Channel Asks Supreme Court To Look At Comcast Case

epa03121633 The racquet of Juergen Melzer of Austria makes contact with a Wilson US Open 3 tennis ball as he serves to Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic during their semifinal match in the Regions Morgan Keegan Championships in Memphis, Tennessee, USA, 25 February 2012. EPA/TANNEN MAURY |

The Tennis Channel filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court asking the justices to review a lower court ruling that sided with cable giant Comcast over whether it discriminated it by refusing to place it on the same lower tier as channels it owns.

“We are seeking Supreme Court review of the D.C. circuit’s decision in our case because the lower court strayed from longstanding federal discrimination law to invent an arbitrary and unfair standard for deciding cable carriage complaints,” Tennis Channel said in a statement. “The ruling ignores Congress’ intent to ensure a diverse, competitive media marketplace and eviscerates the FCC’s congressionally assigned responsibility to regulate program network competition in the public interest.”

Last year, the FCC ordered Comcast to distribute Tennis Channel in an additional 18 million homes, which would have meant a financial windfall for the network, but then the D.C. Circuit Court overturned that ruling. Tennis Channel’s appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is considered to be a long shot.

The company is hoping to get a slot on Comcast’s expanded basic tier, where it carries The Golf Channel and NBC Sports Network, two channels it owns.

Comcast has denied there was any violation, and a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit said ruled there was not “adequate evidence of unlawful discrimination.”

Another appeals court refused to rehear the case in September.

“The D.C. Circuit has spoken emphatically and unanimously that Comcast did not discriminate against Tennis Channel. We are confident that this ruling will continue to be upheld, “ Comcast said in a statement.

Topics: 10sballs, Comcast, Sports, Tennis, Tennis Channel, Tennis News, US Supreme Court