According to the Tennis Channel, the FCC has
denied Comcast's request for a stay of the commission's program carriage
decision against the cable operator.
That
came as no surprise to Comcast, which has already petitioned a federal court to
stay the decision assuming it would not be good news from the FCC.
"For
the fifth time since Tennis Channel filed its carriage complaint in January
2010, the FCC has again ruled against Comcast and its continuing attempts to
illegally discriminate against our network," said Tennis Channel in a
statement. "By denying Comcast's petition for a stay in all significant
respects today, the FCC has reinforced that Comcast must begin positioning
Tennis Channel on equal footing with its own Golf Channel and NBC Sports
Network. The FCC has reiterated that this repositioning must happen
within the required timeframe, which is now approximately 30 days from today's
ruling."
If
the U.S. Court of appeals for the D.C. Circuit does not stay enforcement,
Comcast by early September will have to have paid a fine and given Tennis
Channel the same coverage it gives its Golf Channel and NBC Sports Net, in
which Comcast has an ownership interest.
