|
You may know that the reason Comcast gets away with this is that their distribution infrastructure for Comcast SportsNet is completely fiber and terrestrial microwave. The law requiring owners of channels such as MTV, Nickelodeon, etc. to sell to all distributors who want to buy (which is why such channels are not exclusive to cable TV) only deals with channels that are distributed via satellite! The FCC has repeatedly refused to close this loophole, so we're stuck with it till congress decides to change the law--which may happen! As long as it doesn't affect anybody but Philadelphia (and we have the lowest satellite penetration rate of any large metro area) it won't get a lot of attention, but there is a company which is trying to offer completely terrestrial feeds to companies so they can take advantage of this loophole and not sell to the satellite companies. That might attract more attention to it. (For those non-Philadelphians who are not familiar with the situation, Comcast owns the hockey team, the basketball team, the cable tv company, and the channel that has the rights to broadcast the basketball, hockey, and football games.)
I personally decided that my loathing of the cable company was greater than my desire to watch the Sixers (I don't care much for hockey and none at all for baseball) and I've been a happy satellite customer for almost 5 years.
|