Maine, Cablers Clash Over a la Carte Law Injunction Request
Comcast and an array of programmers are at odds with Maine over a requested preliminary injunction to block the state's a la carte cable TV law. In a docket 19-cv-00410 filing Tuesday (in Pacer) in U.S. District Court in Bangor…
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in support of the injunction ask, plaintiffs Comcast and the others said LD-832 "plainly violates" both the First Amendment and Communications Act, going to the heart of cable operators' and programmers' editorial discretion. State opposition to the injunction request (in Pacer) said federal law doesn't pre-empt here since it doesn't regulate content but instead says content a cable distributor selects must be made available individually. It said cable distributors have no First Amendment right to force bundling. Defendant towns said (in Pacer) Comcast and the others haven't alleged the municipalities tried to enforce the state law. Town managers submitted declarations the communities don't intend to enforce LD-832 for now.