Tennis Channel on Cablevision Signal Access
September 23, 2009
Effective September 24, 2009, Tennis Channel has elected for now to grant signal access to Cablevision pursuant to its request under Tennis Channel’s agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative. We remain deeply concerned about Cablevision’s tactic of using our agreement with NCTC to undermine the parties’ longstanding negotiations and to carry Tennis Channel on terms that do not serve the interests of its customers. Cablevision’s actions are particularly alarming in light of the recent change in NCTC, which has transformed itself from a small-operator buying cooperative into an entity that reaches 26.7 million cable subscribers. That is more than the number reached by the largest cable provider in the United States. These actions have industry-wide ramifications and should be addressed by the appropriate regulatory authorities.