Nationals' Chances on Comcast Get a Boost
Friday, July 14, 2006; Page D01
Federal regulators yesterday took a step that may help resolve a dispute that has kept Washington Nationals games off the region's largest cable network.
The Federal Communications Commission gave the Mid-Atlantic Sports Network, which carries most of the team's games, the right to demand arbitration as part of its efforts to get on the Comcast Corp. system.
  Livan Hernandez of the Washington Nationals pitches July 6. An FCC decision strengthens the hand of MASN in its dispute with Comcast. (By Jamie Squire -- Getty Images) ON THE FIELD Jesus Flores' two-run, ninth-inning double gives the Nationals a 4-3 win over the Marlins. Notebook: The Nationals trade left-handed reliever Ray King, the most veteran member of their pitching staff, to the Brewers for a player to be named. Boswell: The statistics show a return to normalcy in baseball and the end of the Steroid Era. Minor Leagues: Justin Maxwell has come out of the slump he was in after straining an oblique muscle by sneezing and is now hitting .423 with 24 homers. NATIONALS REPORTBy the Numbers89: Errors for the Nationals through Monday. Through 138 games a year ago, they had 113 errors. Personnel Dept.OF Ryan Langerhans hit his first homer of a 14-game stint with Class AAA Columbus on Monday, just before he was called up. "I felt a lot more comfortable," he said. "My approach was a lot better." Langerhans will be used primarily as a defensive replacement. ... The club activated LHP Micah Bowie, who hadn't pitched in the majors since June because of a hip injury. ... The club announced that Centerplate would replace Aramark as the concessionaire at the new ballpark in 2008. Quotable"He certainly was a good influence on our young pitchers, had a lot to do with some of their developments. Our clubhouse was a better place with Ray King a part of it." -- GM Jim Bowden NATIONALS JOURNALBarry Svrluga provides the latest news on the Nationals. MULTIMEDIA Podcasts: Postgame audio from Barry Svrluga and video from Washington Post Live. Slideshow: A crowd of 40,389 pack into RFK Stadium to open up the 2007 baseball season. Photos: Manny Acta returns home. Webcam: Check back daily and follow the progress of construction on the stadium. Take the Local Economy Challenge
Submit your predictions for 11 local economic indicators and see how you compare with other readers. |
The action, part of the FCC's approval of a major acquisition by Comcast, does not guarantee that the 1.3 million Comcast subscribers in the Washington area will be able to see Nationals games, but it dramatically strengthens the hand of MASN.
The FCC gave its blessing to Comcast and Time Warner Inc.'s roughly $17.6 billion deal to buy the assets of Adelphia Communications Corp., which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection four years ago after an accounting scandal.
The purchase would make Comcast and Time Warner, already the largest cable companies in the nation, even bigger. Under the deal, Comcast would strengthen its presence in the Washington region by acquiring Adelphia's cable systems in Loudoun County.
As it approved the merger, the FCC gave regional sports networks such as MASN the right to demand commercial arbitration if they cannot resolve disputes like the 15-month stalemate between MASN, which is majority owned by Baltimore Orioles owner Peter Angelos, and Comcast, the nation's largest cable company.
Spokesmen from Time Warner and Comcast said they were pleased that the FCC had approved the deal but declined to comment on the conditions imposed.
A lawyer for MASN said the sports network hoped to resume talks with Comcast as soon as possible and would seek arbitration if it could not reach an agreement.
"We would welcome the opportunity to speak with Comcast at the first opportunity to reach a distribution agreement so that arbitration is not necessary," said attorney David Frederick, who represents MASN in the FCC proceeding.
As described by FCC officials, the process would begin with the arbitrator deciding whether Comcast had discriminated against MASN in refusing to broadcast the games. If so, both sides would put forward their best offers and the arbitrator would pick one in a process known as baseball-style arbitration.
The FCC's move may put pressure on Comcast to resolve the matter before it gets to arbitration, where the cable firm would have limited influence over the outcome and could be forced to pay more than it would like to carry MASN.
Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who had pressured the FCC to address the issue, said he hoped the two sides would work out a deal.
