Denver-Based Altitude Sports Sues Comcast

A Denver-based regional sports channel sued Comcast on Monday, claiming the cable giant is using its market power to drive the network out of business, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Altitude Sports and Entertainment, which airs Colorado Avalanche and Denver Nuggets games, has been unavailable to Comcast customers in the Denver region since August amid a dispute over how much Comcast pays to distribute the network.

The lawsuit comes as Comcast takes heat over its plans to drop Starz from premium packages amid a similar dispute that has drawn the attention of lawmakers, including a U.S. senator who asked the U.S. Department of Justice to ensure fair competition in the marketplace.

Philadelphia-based Comcast is the dominant television provider in the Denver area, controlling more than half of the region’s market share, according to the complaint. In addition, Comcast owns and distributes regional and national sports programming across the country through its subsidiary, NBCUniversal.

According to the complaint, Comcast has made demands in contract negotiations with Altitude that would drive the independent sports channel out of business, including drastic cuts in what Comcast would pay the network and moving Altitude to a more expensive TV package with fewer subscribers. Comcast has not made these demands on its own affiliated regional sports networks, the complaint says.

“We simply cannot operate at Comcast’s terms. Our costs would be higher than our revenues, and Comcast knows this because it owns and operates regional sports networks,” Matt Hutchings, Altitude’s president, said during a conference call with reporters. “Comcast has left us no option but to hold them accountable in federal court.”

Comcast called Altitude’s lawsuit “meritless” and said the sports channel has several distribution alternatives in an “intensely competitive market” where Comcast has no competitive regional sports networks. The company will “vigorously” defend itself against Altitude’s claims, Comcast spokesman John Demming said in a statement.

Altitude claims Comcast is trying to “extinguish competition” so it can pocket more money from consumers who pay a monthly regional sports fee for TV service. The suit further alleges that Comcast will either try to buy Altitude or set up its own regional sports network to replace Altitude if it succeeds in putting the channel out of business.