Sports fans in Portland without Comcast may have had it tough for the last few seasons, but sports fans in Philadelphia have had to endure more than 10 years of Comcast flexing its muscles in the local market. Not only does Comcast own Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, a regional sports network that carries three of the four major teams in town, it also owns two of those teams – the Flyers and the 76ers.

This means that Philly fans can’t watch their local teams on DirecTV or DISH Network. Unless they can afford to pay for both Comcast and DirecTV, sports fans in Philadelphia who want to watch DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket so they can see all the NFL games must sacrifice watching Philly teams. As a result, satellite TV providers reportedly only have an estimated 16% share of the Philadelphia market, half of what they have in other markets.

Meanwhile, sports fans in New York have had to endure not just James Dolan’s mismanagement of their beloved Knicks franchise, they’ve also been victims of his strong-arm tactics as President and CEO of Cablevision and Madison Square Garden, Inc. Dolan and Cablevision have withheld MSG Sports programming in HD from New York fans who want to use some other carriers, including Verizon and DISH. And any true sports fan can tell you it’s infuriating to watch a sports game without HD.

Comcast and Cablevision have been exploiting a loophole in the law to prevent its competitors from carrying their respective regional sports networks. Here’s how the AP explains the “terrestrial loophole”:

While content owners generally cannot stop competitors from getting access to its channels, there has been an exception since 1992. If the channel’s signals travel through a land-based network instead of satellite, the owner of that channel doesn’t have to give every rival access. The purpose of the exception was to encourage development of local programming.

Comcast and Cablevision Systems Corp. have counted on that loophole to block access to some of their sports channels by their satellite TV and phone company rivals.

But in January of this year, the FCC closed the loophole (and in March a federal appeals court upheld the decision). Here’s what FCC chairman Julius Genachowski said at the time:

The loophole gives free reign to cable-TV operators to lock up local sports events and other popular programming and withhold them from rival providers … Consumers who want to switch video providers shouldn’t have to give up their favorite team in the process. Today the commission levels the competitive playing field.

To most observers, the FCC’s ruling meant that Comcast now has to offer CSN Philadelphia to its competitors and Cablevision has to offer MSG in HD. Not that that’s happening anytime soon. Both have refused to follow the FCC’s ruling.

DISH Network wrote to Comcast in June requesting to carry CSN Philly and received what it said was an outright refusal from Comcast two days later. DISH subsequently announced plans to file a complaint with the FCC.

Comcast spokesman Tim Fitzpatrick said in a statement:

The FCC’s recent Terrestrial Order does not require Comcast to offer Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia or any other terrestrially delivered network to every distributor. It only allows claims where the provider has suffered a competitive injury, and there is no evidence Dish has suffered such an injury.

Comcast says it will give the rights to CSN Philadelphia if DISH and DirecTV give up the rights to their exclusive content, namely DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. But there’s quite a difference between not allowing other carriers to show in-market games and withholding out-of-market games.

So for the time being, sports fans will continue to have to choose between watching their teams and satellite service, a choice that, as Genachowski emphasized, no sports fan should have to make.

If the situations in Philadelphia, New York and Portland don’t make sports fans wary of the pending Comcast-NBCU merger, they should. Comcast has used its control over two regional sports networks to withhold sports programming from competitors, thus treading all over consumers. Imagine what it could do with a national broadcast network.

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Brian Frederick is the Executive Director of Sports Fans Coalition. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication and lives in Washington, D.C. His favorite teams are the Kansas Jayhawks, North Carolina Tar Heels, and whichever team his brother is coaching for. And the underdog. Email him at sportsfanscoalition@gmail.com

David Stern Unbiased in Labor Wars?

by Scott Weiss

Chris Mannix of SI.Com reported on David Stern’s press conference in Las Vegas on Monday regarding his thoughts about the upcoming NBA labor wars.  “Basically where we are at is that we would like fundamental changes,” said Stern, “and the players would very much like the present system to continue.”  I could express my opinion on which side is right and which side is wrong regarding the looming collective bargaining negotiations, but that is not what is important to the fans.  The big problem here is that when Stern uses the word “we,” he is referring to the NBA owners.  The NBA Commissioner should be representing the best interests of the NBA, inclusive of not only the owners, but also the players and fans.

There is nothing wrong with the owners having a representative to trumpet their cause.  The players association has a leader, so the owners should have one as well.  So, let’s call David Stern what he is: the NBA owners rep.  Let me throw this radical idea out there for you to chew on: The NBA Commissioner should be jointly selected by the owners, players and fans (SFC).  This person should act solely in the game’s best interest, not just the interests of one party.  Do you think that work stoppages would occur if there was a neutral Commissioner?  My answer? No way.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

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DON’T TAKE AWAY OUR GAMES!
Summary of Sports Fans Coalition Filing before the FCC

The FCC should protect fans from media conglomerates’ brass-knuckled business tactics and prohibit broadcasters from blacking out sports during TV distribution contract negotiations.

Sports fans have become pawns in contract disputes between TV companies.  When a broadcaster wants to gain leverage in a negotiation with a cable or satellite company, it threatens to take away games from sports fans.

FANS HAVE BECOME A POLITICAL FOOTBALL

When it comes to TV distribution disputes, the fans who are vital to the success of the game and who have contributed to its success through multiple public and private expenditures are treated like a fumbled pigskin.

Without sports fans, there would be no sports media economy.  The fans buy the tickets, watch the games, pay for their sports tiers, purchase their sports packages, and wildly support their teams.  That support is reflected in the public goods granted by government to keep the games going.  Broadcasters, who receive their FCC licenses from the public at no cost, acquire television rights from professional sports leagues, who negotiate those rights under a special federal antitrust exemption enacted just for that purpose, or collegiate leagues, who enjoy non-profit tax status and often federal and state subsidies.  The televised games often are played in stadiums and arenas built with taxpayer dollars or regulatory waivers.  In addition to the public goods spent on sports, the fans themselves pay for sports programming with the legitimate expectation that they will watch the games for which they pay. 

Despite fans’ public and private contributions to sports, however, they are rewarded with threats and gamesmanship during TV distribution contract disputes.  The recurring threat of blackouts during these disputes causes significant uncertainty, frustration, anxiety, and confusion for sports fans.  Fans must scramble to make alternate plans when disputes threaten to disrupt or block access to major sporting events.  For example, as the FOX disputes went down to the wire heading into New Year’s Day this year, fans did not know whether to go ahead with viewing parties.

Sports fans do not care who “wins” in these disputes or how they get resolved.  Fans simply want to avoid being held hostage as broadcasters battle over fees with pay-TV providers.

PROHIBIT BLACKOUTS OF SPORTING EVENTS

From the fans’ perspective, the best solution would be a rule that prohibits broadcasters from pulling their signals—and blocking access to sporting events—in the first place.  The FCC has a long history of laying down ground rules for what is and is not permissible behavior during a retransmission consent negotiation.  Cable providers, for example, may not take down broadcast signals during a Nielsen ratings “sweeps” period.  This rule is designed to protect ratings harm to broadcasters during a negotiation.  Why not protect sports fans, too?

Broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest, and the FCC can enforce that obligation by preventing them from withdrawing, or threatening to withdraw, popular sports programming from the cable or satellite services at the expense of sports fans, who do not want to be dragged into these fights.

If a broadcaster is willing to broadcast a game over the air for free, there is no reason why it should block access for fans who pay for a cable or satellite subscription.  If sports fans can look forward to big games without the stress of wondering whether payment disputes will disrupt access, they will reward the television networks and distributors by being loyal viewers.

Sports fans across the United States ask that the Commission bring an end to the personal fouls imposed on fans during retransmission consent fights.  Let’s put the fans on a level playing field for once and keep the games on.

One of the most powerful people in sports, DeMaurice Smith, joined SFC board member Dave Zirin in studio on his Sirius XM Radio show for a conversation about what’s in store for NFL fans come 2011. It was not an optimistic response delivered by the NFL Players Association Executive Director when Zirin asked if the owners are willing to make concessions in order to negotiate a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement).

A telling moment occurred when Dave Zirin’s co-host, NBA center Etan Thomas, asked Smith how he is handling the misinformation campaign which suggests that the players will strike rather than the reality that NFL owners are on the verge of deciding to lock out players from participating in the games they want to play.

Note: The owners stand to make $4 billion from their TV contract even without actual games on the field. This kind of hijinx is awfully reminiscent of the BCS payouts for bit players milking the cash cow, but I digress.

The truth is that the players are willing to negotiate while the owners only care about the fans to the extent that they want to keep secure the revenue streams already established from ticket sales, parking, merchandise, and concessions. It’s nice to know that a man of DeMaurice Smith’s stature recognizes that the fans are important.

Enough of the analysis of the conversation. Listen to it here.

Hey Jim, Give us the NFL Network

 by Scott Weiss

To tell the story of the NFL Network not being broadcast on Cablevision, you need to know a little about James Dolan.  Mr. Dolan took a controlling stake in Cablevision in 1999, and subsequently, took control of Madison Square Garden, the New York Knicks, New York Rangers and the MSG Network.  What a disaster his reign has been.  The Rangers missed the playoffs from 1997 to 2004 (includes two years prior to him taking over) and the once proud Knicks have missed the playoffs for the past six seasons.  New York fans have been treated to the Isaiah Thomas debacle and more “fire Sather” chants than I choose to remember.  The magical year of 1994 when the Rangers won their first Stanley Cup in 54 years, and the Knicks came within one win of their first NBA Championship since 1973, is a distant memory.  You would think that this is enough pain for fans in the New York/New Jersey area, but unfortunately it is not.

The NFL began to broadcast games for the first time on the NFL Network in 2006.  This was great news for pro football fans, but not those whose cable carrier was Cablevision.  Big Jim and the powers that be at the NFL could not come up with an agreement to share the fan’s millions.  It looked like cooler heads would prevail when Cablevision and the NFL Network reached an agreement to televise the Rutgers vs. Kansas State Bowl Game in December 2006, which was being televised exclusively on the NFL Network.  Once this short term agreement was made, it could not be much longer before the longer term agreement was made to televise the NFL games.  That was December 2006. It’s May 2010, and sports fans still can’t watch their NFL games.

In May 2009, the NFL Network reached a 10 year agreement to televise games with Comcast, the largest cable TV carrier.  Speculation was that other holdout cable carriers including Cablevision would soon follow suit.  It is now one year later, and James Dolan and Cablevision still have not been able to come to an agreement to televise the NFL Network.  November 11, 2010 will be the start of the fifth season that Cablevision customers will not be able to view games on the NFL Network if an agreement is not reached. 

This nonsense will continue as long as sports fans do not have a united voice to challenge this incredible abuse of power.  Sports Fans Coalition is the hope that we have been waiting for to finally put sports fans first.

Scott Weiss is the Local Chapter Chair for SFC-New York/New Jersey.  He has been involved in the sports fans advocacy movement since 2000.  He is a life long fan of the Mets, Jets, Knicks, and Rangers.

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