Verizon Urges FCC To Act On MSG HD Complaint
Telco Complains Cablevision Still 'Unlawfully Withholding HD Sports Programming'
By Todd Spangler -- Multichannel News, 3/30/2010 4:06:28 PM
Verizon Communications has gone to the blogosphere in its fight to get Cablevision Systems' MSG and MSG Plus in HD, complaining that the Federal Communications Commission has still not acted on its July 2009 program-access request even after the FCC voted to eliminate the so-called "terrestrial loophole" in its regulations.
"It's time for the FCC to act on our program access complaint against Cablevision," Verizon media relations director Bill Kula wrote in the telco's corporate blog Tuesday. "Cablevision is unlawfully withholding HD sports programming, and the record in that proceeding is complete. We filed our complaint over eight months ago, and there's nothing left for the FCC to do but act on it."
Kula added that Verizon had originally requested a decision from the commission within five months. "Each day that the FCC doesn't act is another day that FiOS subscribers are being prevented from watching their favorite sports teams in HD, and all customers in the marketplace are denied a more meaningful choice in video providers who can offer the content that people want," he wrote.
The FCC's Media Bureau, which handles program-access complaints, confirmed that it has received Verizon's complaint but otherwise declined to comment.
Cablevision referred to its previous comments on the issue. "If the phone companies complain that they are unable to compete, we are confident that we can prove that it is for a variety of reasons, none of which have to do with HD sports programming," the New York-area cable operator said in January. "Verizon and AT&T do not need a regulatory bailout in order to compete."
That statement came after the FCC issued an order in January that essentially closed the exemption to its program-access rules for terrestrially delivered networks in which cable operators have a financial interest.
Separately, earlier this month, the D.C. Circuit Court denied a challenge by Cablevision and Comcast to the FCC's program-access rules.
Cablevision has withheld the terrestrially delivered HD feeds of its affiliated regional sports networks MSG and MSG Plus from telco competitors in New York City, Buffalo, N.Y., and Connecticut. The RSNs carry exclusive game broadcasts for several area teams, including the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres.
Verizon filed a program-access complaint in 2006 to compel Cablevision to sell the telco MSG in standard definition.
No related content found.
VIEW ALL GALLERIES
