FCC Can Require Cable Companies to Share Sports Channels With Rivals, Court Says

The Federal Communications Commission can require cable companies with vertically integrated regional sports networks to share that programming with satellite TV and telecommunications providers, a federal appeals court ruled June 10 (Cablevision Systems Corp. v. Federal Communications Commission;).

The 3-0 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upholds a January 2010 decision by the FCC to close the so-called “terrestrial loophole” in its rules which has allowed cable operators to deny access to “must have” programming, like live sporting events, to competitors.

In Philadelphia, for example, Comcast Corp. withholds its Comcast SportsNet ...