Comcast Seeks Court Stay of FCC Tennis Channel Decision

Move follows FCC inaction on stay petition filed there, says cable operator

By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/8/2012 5:00:32 PM

Having asked the FCC to weigh in on its request for a stay of the Tennis Channel carriage complaint by Aug. 7, Comcast on Wednesday (Aug. 8) took its request to a federal court after the FCC had not ruled.

"The FCC's Order is unprecedented, unjustified, and unconstitutional, and Comcast requests that it be stayed pending this Court's review," Comcast told the court.

Comcast filed the petition for emergency stay late Wednesday. An FCC spokesperson was checking at presstime on the status of its response, but Comcast was not waiting around. "As of this filing, the FCC has not ruled on Comcast's stay petition," the company said.

As it did in pitching a stay to the FCC, Comcast told the court it was likely to win on the merits, would be "irreparably harmed" absent a stay, said it would be in the public interest, and argues that the stay will not injure the Tennis Channel.

The FCC on July 24 upheld an FCC administrative law judge's decision that Comcast had discriminated against Tennis by placing it on a sports tier while giving its similarly situated co-owned sports nets wider coverage. The FCC has told Comcast to equalize its treatment by the beginning of next month, and to pay a fine.

Comcast last week filed its formal appeal of the decision to the same court, the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, which has principal jurisdiction over FCC decisions.