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Mediacom has filed suit against the Sinclair Broadcast Group, saying that the broadcasting company has violated antitrust law by offering free carriage of stations in some markets if Mediacom would pay to carry stations in more than a dozen other markets.
Mediacom is the country’s eighth largest cable operator, and Sinclair, which operates 58 stations in 36 markets, is the 13th largest station group, according to Broadcasting & Cable, (via MediaPost). If the suit results in Sinclair being required to pull stations from Mediacom markets, that could impact network ratings and local and national ad markets.
Such retransmission payments will ultimately result in price increases for consumers, Mediacom believes. MSOs have, for years, made similar arguments, claiming that larger carriage payments result in higher cable bills.
This is another example of the increasingly bitter battle between station groups and cable operators about retransmission consent. Station operators want payment from MSOs for the right to offer their local channels.
In a statement, Mediacom chairman-CEO Rocco Commisso said, “We believe that Sinclair is holding our customers hostage in the Des Moines market in exchange for carriage of other stations in markets half a continent away.”
Retransmission battles became public last year when Nexstar Broadcasting cut pacts with cable operators worth $48 million, and more battles are looming, writes Mediaweek. Belo Corp.’s contract with Comcast is up in 2007, for example, and CBS, which has made no secret of its desire to get more than $25 million annually from cable, will be negotiating with Comcast in 2008.
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