Time Warner threatens court action over NFL channel

adbutcher

K9NME
Messages
12,287
Reaction score
2,910
Time Warner threatens court action over NFL channel

By Reuters
http://news.com.com/Time+Warner+threatens+court+action+over+NFL+channel/2100-1036_3-6102760.html

Story last modified Mon Aug 07 09:07:04 PDT 2006

Time Warner Cable has threatened to go to court to overturn a decision forcing the No. 2 U.S. cable company to reinstate the NFL Network on some of its systems, according to a filing obtained on Monday.
Time Warner Cable, a unit of Time Warner, was ordered last week by the Federal Communications Commission to restore the channel on cable systems it acquired as part of its purchase of bankrupt Adelphia Communications.

The NFL Network had accused the cable operator of dropping the channel in violation of rules that require 30 days notice for doing so and asked the agency to intervene.

The FCC ordered Time Warner to reinstate the channel just days before the NFL preseason gets under way. The network plans to air 54 NFL preseason games and eight regular season prime time games, according to the agency.

Time Warner asked the five FCC commissioners to reconsider the decision, which was made by the agency's Media Bureau, and also said it would go to court if no action was taken by Monday morning.

"Given the extraordinary nature of the injunction and the immediate harm it will cause if not lifted immediately, Time Warner will have no choice but to obtain judicial relief to protect its interest and those of its customers, if the bureau or the commission has not acted by 10 a.m. eastern time on Monday," the company said in its Aug. 3 appeal to the FCC.

An FCC spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.

About one-third of the subscribers Time Warner acquired, or 1.2 million, had received the NFL Network, but the majority saw it by paying for a digital or sports package instead of through a basic cable package, according to the company.


Story Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.



Copyright ©1995-2006 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved
 
Top