Let our Phillies go!

Close the Comcast Loophole

Did you ever wonder why you can't watch your favorite Philly sports team on satellite TV? Maybe that's the reason why you're still paying for Comcast's television service instead of switching.

It's because there's a loophole in the cable law that allows cable to companies to withhold from competitors any programming that they distribute through wires. They have to share anything they distribute through satellite, so it's called the "terrestrial loophole."

We prefer to call it the Comcast Loophole because that's who takes advantage of it. Comcast uses its SportsNet channel as a weapon to hold us hostage to their expensive prices and bad customer service. Did you know that satellite TV has about half the number of subscribers in Philadelphia that it does in other cities?

Let's do something about it.

The FCC – the federal agency that regulates the television industry – just approved a merger of Comcast and the bankrupt Adelphia that has made Comcast even bigger, more powerful, and more able to dismiss our concerns. Comcast now has a monopoly over all cable TV in Philadelphia.

A few hundred people from our area (and thousands more around the country) asked the FCC to place conditions on the merger, including closing the Comcast Loophole. And they did – everywhere except Philadelphia! I'm not kidding. They made a special exception just for our city that lets Comcast continue to hold our sports teams hostage.

What can we do? There's a piece of legislation in the Senate that would radically change the way corporations deliver television service. It originally had a provision in it that would have closed the Comcast Loophole, but after Comcast VP David L. Cohen told the Senate that they shouldn't be concerned with the matter because it only affected people in Philadelphia (he really said this), they took it out.

Let's tell them to put it back in. Use the form below to send an email to Senator Arlen Specter telling him we deserve to be able to watch the sports games in the stadiums we paid for with our tax dollars. (Feel free to edit the text in the email. The more personal you make it, the more effective it will be.)

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To Senator Specter:
				  
I am writing in reference to the telecommunications bill sponsored by Sen. Stevens (S.2686).

As a fan of the Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers, whose tax dollars paid for their stadiums, I am asking you to oppose the bill unless it is amended to require Comcast to share its regional sports programming with satellite and other television providers.

The recent merger of Comcast and Adelphia has given Comcast a monopoly over Philadelphia cable television and excessive control over the national market. Comcast was already dismissive of my concerns as a consumer: constantly rising prices and poor customer service. Now the problems with my local TV will be even worse. But I don't want to switch to another pay TV provider because I want to be able to watch my local sports teams.

When it approved the merger, the FCC placed conditions on it, including the requirement that Comcast share all of its regional sports programming with competitors  except in Philadelphia! An earlier version of the Stevens bill included a measure to close the loophole, but then it was taken out at Comcast's request.

Worse still, the bill does not preserve net neutrality, so we may soon find ourselves in a similar bind on the web, with our local teams' websites blocked out unless we purchase our Internet access from Comcast.

So now we are coming to you for relief. As the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, please don't let this anti-competitive measure stand. I ask you to oppose Senate Bill 2686 unless it is amended to address these concerns.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

If you want to know more about these issues, check out this info page.
Having problems with this form? Email your comments directly to specter@freetheflyers.com. To contact the fan behind the form, email fan (at) freetheflyers.com