The America Channel, having failed to get carriage on Comcast, sa...
The America Channel, having failed to get carriage on Comcast, said the company acted unfairly in striking deals with other networks. The digital channel also said some of Comcast’s reasons for not carrying it are hypocritical. Comcast said in…
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a July 21 letter to the network that “bandwidth on a cable system is limited,” which the channel alleges is contradicted by its comments to the FCC on a deal with Adelphia. “Comcast cites as one of the primary benefits of the proposed transactions that Adelphia systems will be upgraded,” the network said in an FCC ex-parte filing. That document was filed as part of the FCC’s “permit but disclose” review of Comcast and Time Warner’s proposed $17.6 billion purchase of Adelphia systems, Kathleen Wallman, govt. affairs advisor for the network, told us. That filing said Comcast may give preferential treatment to affiliated networks, potentially violating FCC rules. There’s no lack of “'fair access'” at Comcast, it said in the July letter. The channel “has made multiple FCC filings in connection with these transactions, and we will respond to them, and any other filings, in our written reply Friday,” Comcast said in a statement to us. Comcast has until Fri. at 11:59 p.m. to file its response to comments about the Adelphia deal, which has been opposed in about 14,000 e-mails (CD Aug. 4 p2).