Sports could be battleground for Comcast/NBC deal

Sports programing, a must-have for US cable operators, could end up being the center of a battle between Comcast, NBC Universal and the companies' critics as regulators assess the joint venture's impact on consumers.

Smaller cable companies fear that the top US cable operator will jack up the fees for its sports channels, said Matthew Polka, president of the American Cable Association. "Sports is certainly a major part of this merger," said Polka, whose group does not oppose the deal but is asking for hard and fast conditions to protect its members, which include small cable companies operating in small and rural markets. In particular, Polka wants his members to be charged the same carriage fees for Comcast-owned channels as Comcast does. With sports programing among the most expensive to produce, largely because of payments to the leagues, Polka worried aloud that costs could go up if professional and college sports sought to play Comcast's Versus off against ESPN in negotiations. "I can tell you that the leagues are going to charge even more," he said.