US: Comcast hit with antitrust lawsuit over ad sales

Viamedia says it has been excluded from interconnects that put geographic-based advertising on pay-tv networks.

As the Justice Department probes Comcast’s practices in the spot advertising market, the media giant is now facing an antitrust lawsuit that alleges monopolization of ad markets and the exclusionary treatment of one independent cable representation firm.

On Monday, Viamedia filed suit in Illinois with claims that Comcast has gained control of “interconnects” — local cooperatives serving pay-TV providers like ESPN, Discovery and MTV — and won’t let Viamedia and its clients have access in large markets like Detroit and Chicago.

Viamedia says the spot cable advertising market is worth some $5.4 billion, and that Comcast is driving independent firms out of business with the interest of ensuring the success of its own ad-sales representation firm, Comcast Spotlight.

“Comcast has employed other tactics along with its abuse of its power over Interconnects in furtherance of its anticompetitive agenda,” states the complaint. “For example, Comcast has used acquisitions to gain control of NCC, the lone national clearinghouse for Spot Cable Advertising sales. On information and belief, Comcast is in the process of leveraging its control over NCC to anticompetitively change the way that NCC operates and to embark on a strategy to exclude or threaten to exclude clients of Comcast Spotlight’s competitors from NCC, much as Comcast has done with Interconnects.”

The lawsuit claims damages “of tens of millions of dollars, and not less than $75 million.” Here’s the complaint that also claims as an additional harm, Comcast’s practices mean higher prices and other onerous terms on MVPDs.

Full Content: Hollywood Reporter

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