Since 2008, cable customers have been suing cable operators across the country claiming operators violate the antitrust laws by forcing customers to lease set-top boxes from the operator to access “premium” cable services. Plaintiffs claim that the operators have “tied” one product (the service) to another product (the box) and
Federal Communications Commission
FCC Media Bureau Clarifies Broadcasters’ Negotiation Remedies
By Jennifer R. Scullion on
Negotiations between television channels/networks and pay TV operators are a breed apart. The stakes are high and the consequence of failure – a “dark” screen – is all too public. But the critical factor that sets these negotiations apart is the actual regulation of the negotiations under three main categories…
“Red Herring” or “Alternate [U-verse]”? Court Allows Cable Network to Go Beyond Written Contract in Claims Against Distributor
By Jennifer R. Scullion on
2015 and 2016 saw a wave of transactions among cable, satellite, and other linear programming distributors: AT&T & DirecTV, Altice and Suddenlink, etc. That transactional wave is beginning to spawn a litigation wave, principally over interpretation and application of the pre-existing licenses and contracts between networks and distributors. A recent ruling in one California case is noteworthy to the extent that it allowed a network to proceed against a distributor on multiple theories beyond the parties’ written contract.