Late last year, the FCC ruled that Comcast–the nation’s largest cable provider–had discriminated against a small independent cable channel, Tennis Channel. The result was that the FCC ordered Comcast to carry Tennis on the same tier as it does its own sports channels, Versus and Golf Channel.
Now a slew of independent cable networks are looking to take advantage of the ruling, and get themselves placed nearby the leaders in their respective fields, according to a number of FCC filings obtained by TVNewser. Among the channels that have filed comments this month are Current TV, NFL Network and Bloomberg TV.
Bloomberg–which has been waged in a war over channel placement with Comcast since the NBCU deal was approved, is seeking to be placed next to CNBC and Fox Business Network. Current TV is aiming to be placed nearby MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, and NFL Network wants to be near ESPN.
Not surprisingly, the cable operators have filed comments opposing the decision, alongside larger programmers such as Discovery Communications.
The independent networks argue that it wouldn’t be a big deal to make room for them on lower tiers of service (though certainly the carriage fees would boost cable bills). The MSOs argue that it would be extremely difficult to add so many channels in so many places, and would make it harder for consumers to find the channels they want.
Read the brief from Current TV, the NFL and Tennis Channel below, and from Bloomberg TV below that.