Comcast to fight FCC ruling on sports telecasts

Comcast Corp. isn't surrendering its regional sports network to DirecTV and Dish Network without a fight.

A day after the Federal Communications Commission closed the "terrestrial loophole" that keeps Comcast SportsNet off satellite TV, company executive David L. Cohen said Comcast would challenge the FCC action in an administrative process at the federal agency. DirecTV and Dish Network still must show that Comcast's exclusive right to the Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers through Comcast SportsNet has hurt them competitively, which Cohen says is not a slam dunk. Comcast also will tie the issue to DirecTV's Sunday Ticket package of out-of-market football games, Cohen said on the radio. Cohen said the federal agency should look at DirecTV's deal with the National Football League, which he called "the most valuable exclusive in sports today." DirecTV spokesman Robert Mercer said the comparison was misleading because "out-of-market games are not the same as home-team games," which he said were critical for local subscribers.