DirecTV in dispute with Comcast over sports cost

DirecTV Group said on Wednesday it has advised Comcast Corp it plans to file for arbitration in a dispute over rate increases to carry Comcast's sports networks in New England and the San Francisco areas. Executives from DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite TV provider, said Comcast is asking for increases of 25 to 40 percent for its subscribers to be able to view games of teams like the National Basketball Association's Boston Celtics and National Hockey League's San Jose Sharks. The dispute could impact nearly 2 million DirecTV subscribers and also includes programing for other sports franchise like the San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics baseball teams and the Golden State Warriors basketball team on the Bay Area sports network. But DirecTV executives said it was likely the two sports TV networks would remain on air for fans during the arbitration process.