Comcast Advertising Monopoly Claims Revived by Appeals Court (1)

Comcast Corp. must face revived claims it used its control over a regional advertising clearinghouse to monopolize “representation services” that coordinate TV ad placements in Chicago, Detroit, and Hartford, Conn., the Seventh Circuit ruled Monday.

“This is not a case” of anti-monopoly laws “being misused to protect weaker competitors rather than competition more generally,” Judge David Hamilton wrote, sending the case back to Chicago federal court.

The antitrust lawsuit accuses Comcast of leveraging its control over its “interconnect”—the centralized advertising marketplace—to force rival telecoms to boycott the ad coordination services offered by Viamedia Inc., its sole competitor in that arena. ...