DirecTV has "responded to Comcast's emergency injunctive request" over the satellite company's Sunday Ticket campaign, arguing that its ads "are truthful and that Comcast waited two months after the ads first aired before filing legal action," according to Eriq Gardner of the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. In a brief to an Illinois magistrate judge, DirecTV said
Comcast's allegations that it is misleading people "borders on absurd." Comcast in its lawsuit argues that DirecTV "was trying to pull a bait-and-switch, luring fans with 'free offers' but actually imposing on them a two-year contract with 'hefty' cancellation fees." In response, DirecTV said that the "actual phrase in its ads is 'no extra charge,' which has allegedly been transposed to 'free' by Comcast 'as if it means the same thing.'" DirecTV also addressed its commercial showing an Eagles fan "complaining about not being able to see his team on television," revealing that the NFL "objected in a letter" after the ad began airing. DirecTV said that it "changed the commercial so that now, during the beginning moments of the ad, the words '10 am, Los Angeles' flash on the screen, so as to make clear where the disgruntled Eagles fan is actually located." Gardner noted the satellite company still "doesn't explain why it chose to air that particular ad in the city of Philadelphia," where Comcast is based (
HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 8/8).
TIME NOT ON YOUR SIDE: In N.Y., Claire Atkinson reported NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell's effort to land carriage deals for NFL Network with Cablevision and Time Warner Cable "has gained little yardage." The league is "angering some cable executives" because of DirecTV's marketing campaign that "offers its NFL Sunday Ticket package at no charge -- which the executives believe can lead to a loss in subscribers." While Goodell met with TWC officials last week, an NFL source said, "We're not even close." Another source said, "Goodell says the same thing every year. It's laughable at this point." A Cablevision spokesperson said, "If the NFL really cared about cable customers being able to see their games, they would make Sunday Ticket available to cable customers, which they have refused to do" (N.Y. POST, 8/6).
