Cable, Business Groups Back Comcast in Antitrust Fight

The US Chamber of Commerce, NCTA – The Internet & Television Association, and others asked the Supreme Court to hear an appeal by Comcast on when courts can force a monopoly to do business with its rivals. The cable giant has asked the High Court to reverse a February appeals court decision that reinstated an antitrust suit against it by Viamedia, a company that sells ads on behalf of cable and telecom providers. “If left in place, the decision ... will have a major impact on businesses’ ability to choose the parties with whom they deal,” the Chamber said in its brief. “Firms should be free to refuse to deal with others whenever doing so is supported by a rational, procompetitive purpose.” NCTA, which lobbies on behalf of the cable industry, also criticized the appeals courts’ “tangential discussion” about interconnects — one-stop shops for advertisers to buy cable ads in a geographic area rather than dealing with each cable operator individually. The appeals court misunderstood how interconnects work, the cable lobby said.