$150 Million Dollar Lawsuit Against Comcast, Filed By Longtime Partner Players Network Television, Could Be An Issue to Any Attempted Time Warner Merger
DALLAS -
(EINPresswire via NewMediaWire) - February 18, 2014 - Players Network Television (PNTV) filed a $150,000,000 Million breach of contract lawsuit against Comcast Corporation (Comcast) and its affiliates in the District Court of Clark County, Nevada on January 24, 2014. The timing could pose problems with the proposed Comcast/Time Warner merger. The answer to the complaint is due on February 13, 2014. Mergers of any size can prove difficult, but a merger of this proportion, combining two media industry giants, pulls every aspect of a company’s operations and performance under a microscope. Every potential problem, such as lawsuits with a long time business partner, come into focus as investors and regulators examine all proposed partners.This lawsuit has a huge potential to impact PNTV and to positively affect shareholders of that company, especially if Comcast decides to settle the suit quickly to clear way for a Time-Warner merger.
Comcast is accused of violating the contract with PNTV as well as Comcast’s consent decree with the Justice Department and the FCC by preferring their programming to PNTV’s “Vegas On Demand” network. Comcast also stands accused of unfairly competing and discriminating against PNTV and the Vegas on Demand network. Ultimately, the lawsuit claims that Comcast is in violation of the letter and spirit of the PNTV contract it entered into in 2005, and the Justice Department and FCC consent decree, which was entered into in 2010, related to Comcast’s acquisition of NBC and Universal Studios.
Comcast, as alleged in the complaint, is accused of preferring the programming of its own networks or affiliates over that of PNTV. PNTV helped start Comcast’s video on demand business back in 2004 by becoming one of Comcast’s first independent networks and by entering into a ten (10) year contract, helping to draw substantial viewers to Comcast Select On Demand platform with its original content. Under that agreement, Comcast and PNTV became partners and Comcast promised PNTV to utilize their resources to assist in building and monetizing PNTV’s Vegas On Demand channel by securing sponsors, advertisers and providing Vegas On Demand with access to it middleware ad insertion technology to monetize Vegas On Demand content and to market the channel to other carriers, which Comcast failed to do. PNTV also invested millions of dollars into producing unique programming to satisfy the deal. PNTV attempted to resolve the dispute, but after a year of negotiations with Comcast, PNTV determined that Comcast was not dealing with them in good faith. In compliance with SEC rules and regulations, all of the forgoing had to be disclosed by PNTV to the public in an 8K filing with the SEC according to the company’s attorney, Barney C. Ales, Esq., of the law firm of Barney C. Ales, Ltd.
About PNTV
Players Network is a leading digital media, new media, CATV and entertainment media company.
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dwaite@stocksummary101.com
Daniel Waite
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