May 31, 2006 ยท Last updated 12:46 a.m. PT Cable TV channel sues Time Warner, Comcast
By STEVE KARNOWSKI ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/1310AP_Cable_TV_Lawsuit.html MINNEAPOLIS -- A startup cable television channel sued cable giants Time Warner Inc. and Comcast Corp. on Tuesday in an attempt block their planned acquisition of bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. The America Channel, which has yet to go on the air, claims in its lawsuit that the deal violates federal antitrust laws and will reduce competition in the cable TV industry. The lawsuit accuses Time Warner and Comcast of conspiring to monopolize local cable systems across the country and of using their alleged monopoly power to refuse to deal with independent networks such as The America Channel, denying them the access to local cable systems they need to succeed. Comcast and Time Warner, the nation's two biggest cable TV companies, agreed jointly last year to acquire Adelphia, the nation's fifth-largest cable operator, for $17.6 billion, and divide up its systems among the two of them. TAC's lawsuit accuses Comcast and Time Warner of price-fixing and bid-rigging in their submission of a joint bid instead of competing against each other to acquire Adelphia's assets. Joseph Alioto, an attorney for The America Channel, which is based in Heathrow, Fla., said the two big operators freeze out independent channels like TAC because the independents produce programs that compete against their own offerings. "We have little or no chance of getting into their systems because they're operating by agreements and understandings among themselves, said Alioto, of San Francisco. The America Channel's programs will focus on America's unsung heroes past and present, Alioto said. The channel says it aims to "tell the ever-unfolding story of America through the eyes of real Americans." According to its Web site, TAC plans to launch late this year and reached an agreement in April with telecommunications company BT Americas that will make it available to 50 million homes in Europe and the Middle East with satellite TV. It says it has 10 distribution deals in all. But if Time Warner and Comcast are allowed to buy Adelphia, he said, TAC will be prevented from getting on Adelphia's cable systems, too. He said TAC had had good discussions with Adelphia before the deal was announced. Besides seeking an injunction to block the Adelphia deal, Alioto said TAC is also seeking monetary damages that could total around $1 billion. Comcast serves more than 26 million cable TV customers, while Time Warner has more than 13 million. Adelphia, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2002 amid a corporate looting scandal, has over 5 million subscribers. The lawsuit also names Time Warner Cable Inc. and Time Warner New York Cable LLC. Adelphia is not a defendant. "The allegations in the complaint are entirely frivolous," said Susan Duffy, a spokeswoman for New York-based Time Warner Inc. "We are confident that this matter will not impede closing of the Adelphia transaction." A spokesman for Philadelphia-based Comcast, Tim Fitzpatrick, said the company had no immediate comment on the lawsuit, but noted that the Federal Trade Commission did not impose any conditions on the Adelphia deal when it completed its antitrust review in January. Citing the pending litigation, Paul Johnson, a spokesman for Greenwood Village, Colo.-based Adelphia, declined to comment on the lawsuit. --- On the Net: The America Channel: http://www.americachannel.us Comcast Corp. http://www.comcast.com Time Warner Inc. http://www.timewarner.com/corp Adelphia Communications Corp.: http://www.adelphia.com ================================ George Antunes, Political Science Dept University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204 Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927 antunes at uh dot edu Reply with a "Thank you" if you liked this post. _____________________________ MEDIANEWS mailing list [email protected] To unsubscribe send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
