Jul. 24, 2006 Consumer Watch: Why did FCC fail local sports fans? By Jeff Gelles Inquirer Columnist
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/business/15107315.htm Washington consumers had a problem, and the federal government addressed it. Philadelphia consumers had a problem, and the government - at all levels - failed them. That sums up one of the most bizarre government decisions you'll ever see: The Federal Communications Commission's July 13 approval, with conditions, of Comcast and Time Warner's bid for bankrupt Adelphia Communications. Not that the approval itself was bizarre. Everyone agrees that Adelphia customers deserve a cable company with a pulse. No, the bizarre part came in the conditions devised by FCC Chairman Kevin Martin - in particular, in two conditions stirred by Comcast's willingness to throw its weight around at the expense of sports fans, as the cable industry has a long and unfortunate history of doing. In one, the FCC is forcing settlement of a financial dispute that has led Comcast to refuse to carry the Washington Nationals' baseball channel on its Washington-area systems. Customers squawked, and public officials listened. At least three area representatives complained to the FCC and to fellow lawmakers. The result: As a condition of the Adelphia deal, Comcast will have to accept arbitration to settle the Nationals dispute and similar cases. Tale of another city The FCC's logic took its strange twist when it came to Philadelphia's longer-running dispute over sports. It made Comcast agree to share its local sports channels with competitors. But the condition exempts the Philadelphia market - the only place where either company actually withholds local sports, as Comcast does by refusing to share SportsNet with DirecTV and Dish Network. Why did the FCC fix one city's problem and punt on the other? Washington consumers certainly don't suffer more harm - they don't even suffer as much. The Nats' Mid-Atlantic Sports Network is available from the satellites and from RCN Corp., whose cable service competes with Comcast's in some parts of Washington. Here, fans know that if they switch to satellite, they'll miss most of the Phillies, Sixers and Flyers. Comcast's practice robs them of consumer choice. Nor did Comcast win on legal points. The FCC's Adelphia decision closes the loophole that Comcast has relied on to keep SportsNet to itself. Except in Philadelphia. Leadership counts So if those factors don't explain why Comcast got a pass here, what does? One answer is that Comcast showed a willingness to compromise, but perhaps only so far, as regulators and lawmakers have questioned its use of local sports as leverage over competitors. Comcast officials suggested that they had no intention of extending their Philadelphia practices elsewhere. At the same time, they urged the FCC and Congress to keep their hands off the Philadelphia market. If Comcast was persuasive, it owes a special debt to Philadelphia area officials so enthralled at Comcast that they wink at its heavy-handed behavior. Consumers gripe about the SportsNet loophole. So do bloggers, media-rights advocates, and the occasional columnist. But unlike the Washington officials who challenged Comcast's refusal to carry the Nationals, this region's politicians have been shamefully mute. Only one councilman, Michael Nutter, even mentioned the issue at City Council's lone hearing on the Adelphia deal. It doesn't hurt that, like most regulated businesses, Comcast knows how to work the levers of government, such as by hiring former officials as lobbyists. But it's hard to blame David L. Cohen or anyone at Comcast for our current political leaders' failure to cry foul. The FCC's decision was a slap in the face to Philadelphia. It identified a practice that harms consumers, and barred it everywhere else. Yet its message to Comcast was: You own Philadelphia. Do what you please. The first step toward solving a problem is recognizing that you have one. Right now, the message from our leaders is that everything is Comcastic. ================================ 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]
