Tennis Channel: Another FCC Win But No Victory

By John Eggerton -- Multichannel News, 2/13/2012 12:01:00 AM

Washington — Tennis Channel has won four calls in its favor at the Federal Communications Commission, the latest one coming from the agency’s enforcement bureau last week.

That’s a nice win streak.

The only problem: The favorable FCC decisions have still not translated into a federal mandate for Comcast to treat the independent channel the same way it does NBC Sports Network or Golf Channel, two networks in which the MSO has a financial interest.

The latest endorsement came in the form of advice that the full commission deny Comcast’s request for a stay of enforcement of an administrative-law judge’s decision that Comcast discriminated against Tennis Channel in favor of those co-owned networks.

REJECTION AT NET

It was a rejection of Comcast’s claims that not granting the stay would impinge on its First Amendment rights and cause confusion to viewers.

Judge Richard Sippel — the Maytag repairman of administrative law judges, given he is the only one in residence at the FCC — has told the cable operator to give Tennis Channel equal treatment.

That could mean moving Tennis off the sports tier and onto the more widely viewed tier where Golf and NBC Sports Network reside.

It could, according to the bureau, also mean moving Golf and NBC Sports to the sports tier, or not running any of the channels.

The enforcement bureau two weeks earlier said Comcast should be required to comply immediately with the ALJ decision. Tennis asked for the most recent guidance, saying Comcast should not be able to put off that carriage while exhausting appeals.

NO DELETION NEEDED

As Comcast has not been required to delete any programming to implement the order, the bureau agreed that it should be carried out now.

The bureau earlier on advised Sippel to rule, as he ultimately did, that Comcast violated FCC program-carriage rules by discriminating against Tennis Channel.

Comcast is appealing the judge’s decision to the full commission.

FCC lawyers say on background that Sippel’s decision was effective immediately. Comcast counters that the judge’s own decision holds it in abeyance if Comcast files exceptions, which it has done numerous times.

A Tennis Channel spokesperson said there have been no conversations with Comcast about the enforcement bureau action, but said Comcast had not moved the channel and was not expected to.

The ball, as it were, is now in the full commission’s court, the spokesman suggested.