Decision on Sportsnet Philadelphia Due this Week

[ice grillin you]

when you say everyone outside the philly area youre speaking only of satelite cutomers correct?

for example i wouldnt be able to get csn philly on my cable right?

[SunMo]

i don't think so, but i really have little knowledge about the subject.  i just pick up tidbits here and there

[Seabiscuit36]

you may depending on if you cable carrier is willing to pay to add it their packages

[Wingspan]

I am curious what they would consider outside the Philly region. Maybe just the communities not offered CSN on their Comcast programming?

there's a certian range that is considered the philly area but only are reachable via satelite. and if comcast offered CSN there, they would have to transmit via satelite. and that would pretty much give CSN to everyone. since the loophole comcast is using now is that CSN is a landline broadcast only.

i farging hate comcast. highest cable and internet rates in the country...yet the strongarm philly into letting them build a skyscraper virtually tax free while they have their customers by the balls. i dont buy from them now, and i never will.

[Wingspan]

when you say everyone outside the philly area youre speaking only of satelite cutomers correct?

for example i wouldnt be able to get csn philly on my cable right?

you not being able to get csnphilly is a decision that comcast has made. for example...i live in king of prussia pa. and if i so desired, i could call directv and ask them to add the local sports package for chicago, and i would have it in 10 minutes.

the only market where you can not get this option is anything from the philly market, because comcast chooses not to allow it. and it's no coincedence that philly cable rates are ranked among the highest in the nation while people generally have little choice in their carriers.

[ice grillin you]

you may depending on if you cable carrier is willing to pay to add it their packages

my cable carrier is comcast but im in md

what im basically asking is if there is a chance csn philly would be on comcast cable systems outside of philly

even the possibility of that would cause me to jerk stain my pants

[Susquehanna Birder]

I'm in Harrisburg, and we get CSN as part of the tier ("ripoff level 1") package. So I'm guessing that technically, I am already in the Comcast Philly service region, and therefore I cannot get the channel via satellite.

What really fries my bacon is that I think I could get CSN Baltimore on DirecTV back when I had it. Only the Philly version was not offered.

[Seabiscuit36]

WASHINGTON, July 13 (Reuters) - A U.S. Federal Communications Commission meeting on Thursday to consider the sale of bankrupt Adelphia Communications Corp. (ADELQ.PK: Quote, Profile, Research) to the two biggest cable operators was delayed and officials could not say when it would start.

The monthly open meeting had been scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. EDT (1330 GMT), then was pushed back to 11:30 a.m. EDT (1530 GMT).

The delay was due to commissioners wrapping up details on the items to be voted at the meeting, including the merger, according to an FCC official.

The FCC is expected to conditionally approve the approximately $17.6 billion deal in which Comcast Corp. (CMCSA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Time Warner Inc. (TWX.N: Quote, Profile, Research) will acquire Adelphia, sources have said.

[Wingspan]

you may depending on if you cable carrier is willing to pay to add it their packages

my cable carrier is comcast but im in md

what im basically asking is if there is a chance csn philly would be on comcast cable systems outside of philly

even the possibility of that would cause me to jerk stain my pants

for them to do that, they would have to transmit the station via satelite. which would mean every carrier in the country will be, by law, allowed to show CSN as part of their sports packages.

something comcast will not do. it's their meal ticket in the philly region and for dish network and directv to have access to it, would eat in majorly to the philly subscriber base. 

[Geowhizzer]

I'm in Harrisburg, and we get CSN as part of the tier ("ripoff level 1") package. So I'm guessing that technically, I am already in the Comcast Philly service region, and therefore I cannot get the channel via satellite.

What really fries my bacon is that I think I could get CSN Baltimore on DirecTV back when I had it. Only the Philly version was not offered.

You're right, Sus.  I have gotten feeds from CSN Baltimore and Chicago for various games (Orioles, Cubs-White Sox).  Just not Philly.

[Seabiscuit36]

Screwed by our government as usual

FCC Approves Adelphia Deal

By John Eggerton Broadcasting & Cable 7/13/2006 (John Higgins contributed to this report.)

As expected, the FCC Thursday approved--by a 4-1 vote--Comcast and Time Warner's $17.6 billion purchase of bankrupt Adelphia Communications, with the two dividing up the systems.

Democrat Jonathan Adelstein joined the Republicans in voting for the deal, leaving only Democrat Michael Copps opposing. Adelstein did dissent in part, saying the commission should have imposed network neutrality conditions, a deficit that also troubled Copps.

Adelstein said, on balance, that the more compelling interest was to get Adelphia out of bankruptcy and improve service to its customers. It has been "rotting on the vine," in the interim, he said.

The merger, said the commission, serves the public interest, complies with all rules and statues and whatever public interest harms there might be are outweighed by public interest benefits, including principally system upgrades that will bring high speed voice and data, HDTV and video on demand to Adelphia's systems that are upgraded, and resolving the Adelphia bankruptcy.

The key conditions the FCC did put on the merger had to do with regional sports networks. Comcast and Time Warner must put disputes over pricing or access to its regional sports networks (RSNs) to arbitration. The companies also cannot deny access to its sports networks to other multichannel programming providers, with, as expected, a carve-out for Philadelphia.

The decision does close the terrestrial loophole for regional sports networks, which means that program access rules will now apply to landline-delivered RSNs. Previously, they only applied to satellite-delivered programming. "The conditions apply regardless of the means of delivery. Terrestrial means are included."

Comcast and Mid Atlantic Sports Network (MASN) will now have to submit their dispute to binding arbitration, which means resolving a fight that has kept the Washington Nationals baseball games out of many Washington homes. That was an issue that many on Capitol Hill had pushed the FCC to address. New Commissioner Robert McDowell was given credit for working on that issue .

McDowell had some strong words for the FCC, saying it had been slow to resolve and address program carriage issues. He said he wholeheartedly supports launching a review of program access rules, which the FCC also agreed to do.

"The MASN complaint has been left to rot in some small crypt in this building," he said. McDowell said it had become clear to him that complaints wait too long for action, attributing it to an "indolent bureaucracy's failure to obey simple congressional mandates." To that end, he praised the decision to put a shot clock on resolving those complaints.

Competitors, congressmen and media reform activists had all called for some conditions on the merger, which allows the top two cable MSO's, Comcast and Time Warner, respectively, to get even bigger. Chairman Kevin Martin had telegraphed his intention to put some programming access conditions on the deal, particularly after input from many complaining of the access to home team sports broadcasts that Comcast controls.

Copps was unhappy that there were not tougher program access and other conditions, saying that "while rescuing Adelphia is laudable, the antcompetitive combination of asssets is not."

Copps said nothing in the order "rebuts the truth that competitoin means higher prices." It is big media getting bigger, he said, without sufficient protections from dominating programming and potentially broadband access as well.

Martin said he did not believe that network neutrality conditions were called for absent any showing of present harm, but said the FCC would stand by its four network neutrality principles and monitor for potential harms..

Copps also took issue with the regional sports remedies. He said arbigration was a positive step, but oppposed the carve-out for Philadelpia.

Time Warner Cable and Comcast will divvy up Adelphia systems serving 5.2 million subscribers scattered across 31 states. The two cable operators will further swap systems from their existing portfolios to create stronger geographic clusters.

The deal will allow Time Warner to emerge as the largest cable operator in the Los Angeles market, which has been the most fragmented major market in the country.

The deal will also allow Comcast to fulfill its promise to regulators to unwind its 21% ownership of Time Warner Cable, something inherited in a past deal. Antitrust regulators frowned on such a significant link between the two largest cable operators—a legacy of the AT&T deal. As part of the various system swaps, Comcast will give Time Warner that stock back.

Friedman Billings Ramsey analyst Brian Coyne said two weeks ago that the analysts sees major system upgrades, and cable tech fortunes, spurred by the decision to allow Comcast and Time Warner to divvy up Adelphia's almost 5 million basic subs.

The FCC had pledged to move on its decision on the sale of Adelphia by the Aug 31 deadline for the deal to close--pushed back from an initial Aug. 31 deadline.

At the end of the day, Time Warner will grow from 10.9 million subscribers to 14.4 million. FCC Chairman Kevin Martin had wanted to move earlier on the merger approval, but was deadlocked with a 2-2 commission until recently, with the two Demcratic commissioners wanting stronger conditions put on the merger.

Utlimately, the conditions were sufficient to win over Adelstein to the majority.

In addition, Adelphia has been in protracted bankruptcy proceedings that affected the timing of the approval as well.

Coyne noted that Comcast alone plans to spend $150 million to upgrade the Adelphia systems
and Time Warner potentially more since it is getting more systems out of the deal.

In fact, Commissioner Adelstein said Thursday that the two had commited to $1.6 billion in upgrades between them.

http://www.broadcastingcable.com/in...cleID=CA6352882

[ice grillin you]

The companies also cannot deny access to its sports networks to other multichannel programming providers, with, as expected, a carve-out for Philadelphia.

does mean that csn philly will now be on direct tv OUTSIDE the philly area

[Wingspan]

The companies also cannot deny access to its sports networks to other multichannel programming providers, with, as expected, a carve-out for Philadelphia.

does mean that csn philly will now be on direct tv OUTSIDE the philly area

nope.

it's the exact opposite.

philly will now be the ONLY regional sports network no allowed to be broadcast other than to philly area comcast victims.

[SunMo]

are you sure?  i read it the other way, that they to offer it everywhere, except to satellite companies in the philly region.

[ice grillin you]

sickening

i dont agree with either loophole but i can see the argument that it would really hurt comcast in the philly area...but why not require them to put their station on satelite outside the philly area...in fact i would think comcast would want their station available in more areas as they could charge higher advertising rates