Comcast Looks To Tie Sunday Ticket To The Terrestrial Loophole

Comcast Exec VP David Cohen Thursday said that the company plans to ask the FCC to make NFL Sunday Ticket available to cable operators if DirecTV asks the FCC to grant it access to Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia. "In the event that satellite comes in and files a proceeding at the commission under the new rules yesterday, you can expect that our response is going to make that case very vigorously," Cohen said on a radio show on WIP-AM. Earlier this week, the FCC voted to close a regulatory loophole that allowed Comcast to keep its Philadelphia-based RSN off of satellite systems. Cohen also suggested that the FCC's original decision eventually could be challenged legally. "It's not so clear that they have the authority to do what they have done and there is probably a legal challenge there," Cohen said. "Whether anyone will choose to pursue it or not, I don't know" (THE DAILY). DirecTV Dir of PR Robert Mercer said the comparison between CSN Philadelphia and NFL Sunday Ticket was misleading because "out-of-market games are not the same as home-team games." An analyst Wednesday estimated that the exclusive rights to its RSNs "boosts Comcast's subscriber base by 450,000 customers in the Philadelphia region" (PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 1/22).

FAMILY PLANNING: In California, John Maffei notes Padres games air exclusively on Cox Communication's Channel 4 San Diego, so DirecTV officials are interested in how the loophole "plays out, as are the Padres." Cox and the Padres are "in the eighth year of a 10-year deal" that pays the club about $16M annually. The two sides have "already talked -- at least informally -- about a new contract, a deal that would either get games off cable or make them available to a wider audience." Padres Vice Chair & CEO Jeff Moorad recently said, "Channel 4 is at the top of our business agenda. There is nothing more important to us than providing our games to a wider audience." Sources indicated that Cox is "willing to pay something close to what it pays now for the Padres," but the team wants "something close" to $30M per season. Maffei notes if Cox agrees to the $30M figure or "something close to that, it could recoup some money by making games available to AT&T U-Verse and DirecTV, which would have to pay a fee to carry them" (NORTH COUNTY TIMES, 1/22).