COMCAST CITES COMPETITION IN DEFENSE OF SATELLITE TV BAN

          Comcast Corp. yesterday "defended its refusal to put
     its new" RSN, Comcast SportsNet, on satellite TV, according
     to Michael Rozansky of the PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER.  Comcast
     spokesperson Joe Waz said the move is "about competition,"
     and added that SportsNet could help cable TV "distinguish
     itself from satellite rivals."  Waz said that while DirecTV
     "has invested zero in improving the quality of programming
     available to greater Philadelphia," it wants to "profit"
     from a channel that Comcast has invested a great deal in,
     which "isn't fair."  DirecTV's Bob Marsocci said Comcast is
     trying "to deflect attention from their own anticompetitive
     behavior."  DirecTV filed a complaint Tuesday with the FCC
     accusing SportsNet of unfair competition because SportsNet
     will not be available on DBS systems.  Meanwhile, yesterday,
     Wade Cable in Philadelphia, Lower Bucks Cablevision and
     Warner Cable in Avalon, NJ, said they would run SportsNet as
     a basic-level channel (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 9/26).