Full FCC Denies Tennis Channel Program Carriage Complaint Against Comcast
The full FCC denied Tennis Channel’s program carriage complaint against Comcast, echoing a U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decision that reached the same conclusion in 2013, after the commission previously found in favor of the independent programmer.…
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After the D.C. Circuit decision, Tennis Channel filed a petition for further proceedings with the FCC, arguing that the court ruling had created new evidentiary tests to show discrimination, and that the channel should be allowed to present evidence to satisfy those requirements in its pursuit of its program carriage complaint. That petition and the initial program carriage complaint were denied in a commission order Wednesday. “The court neither invited nor directed the Commission to address on remand the evidentiary shortcomings identified in its decision,” the FCC said. The evidentiary standards for discrimination weren't altered by the court’s decision, the commission said. “The interest in bringing the proceeding to a close outweighs any interest in allowing Tennis Channel a second opportunity to prosecute its program carriage complaint.”