Astros Owner Jim Crane on Thursday filed a lawsuit against former team Owner Drayton McLane, Comcast and NBCUniversal "accusing them of fraud and civil conspiracy and accusing McLane's corporation that owned the Astros of breach of contract" in conjunction with Crane's '11 purchase of a 46% interest in CSN Houston parent company Houston Regional Sports Network, according to David Barron of the HOUSTON CHRONICLE. The suit accuses McLane of selling "an asset (the network) they knew at the time to be overpriced and broken." The suit also states that Crane was "'duped' when he bought McLane's network interest based on what have been proved to be 'knowing misrepresentations' and 'falsely inflated subscription rates.'" Barron noted the Rockets "are not named in the suit." The suit alleges that McLane and Rockets Owner Leslie Alexander demanded in '10 that Comcast "charge a base subscriber rate for CSN Houston in Zone 1 -- the area around Houston where Astros and Rockets games can be seen -- that Comcast said was too high." The suit states that the rate was "so high that Comcast feared it could not convince other distributors to carry the network." It also states that Comcast "eventually agreed to the inflated base rate ... in return for a most favored nation clause, which insured Comcast it would always pay the lowest base rate of any distributor." Crane was "not aware of these facts when he was negotiating to buy the team." He also accuses NBC Sports Group President Jon Litner of "making false and misleading claims that the CSN Houston business plan was achievable, even though they were based on what the company knew were inflated subscriber rates." Crane's attorneys include David Boies, who has represented Al Gore and the late George Steinbrenner (CHRON.com, 11/21).
OFFICIAL STANCE: Comcast in a statement said, "Comcast/NBCUniversal vehemently rejects any claim of wrongdoing asserted by the Astros. This litigation outside the bankruptcy proceedings is a desperate act, committed during a period in which Mr. Crane and his team of sophisticated advisors have been granted by the Bankruptcy Court an opportunity to explore and effectuate solutions to the Network's serious business problems. Instead, it appears that Mr. Crane is suffering from an extreme case of buyer's remorse, and aiming to blame the Network's challenges on anything but his own actions. Comcast/NBCUniversal looks forward to vindicating itself in this litigation and also remains committed to a reorganization of the Network in Bankruptcy Court" (THE DAILY).
YOUR MOVE: Alexander on Thursday said that he is "interested in buying Houston Regional Sports Network." Crane said "the ball's in (Alexander's) court" to make an offer (HOUSTONCHRONICLE.com, 11/22). MULTICHANNEL NEWS' Mike Reynolds cited sources as saying that there "have not yet been any formal discussions about a joint bid" from the Rockets and Comcast/NBC Universal for CSN Houston (MULTICHANNEL.com, 11/21).
