Comcast, the largest cable and broadband provider in the world, is appealing a decision made by a bankruptcy court that would allow the company to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy without repaying a $100 million loan. The company seeks to keep control of a sports network that would be sold to two other cable and broadband providers if the court decision is maintained.
Comcast Appeals Bankruptcy Ruling
A bankruptcy judge has recently ruled that Comcast’s loan has an inconsequential value, which will allow Comcast’s SportsNet Houston to be sold to DirecTV and AT&T. Currently, SportsNet Houston is the only network to broadcast Houston Astros baseball and Houston Rockets basketball games. The two companies working together would nearly double the households that are able to access the channel.
SportsNet Houston filed for bankruptcy after deciding to use a subscription service for its broadcasting. It would require that other networks force their users to pay extra to access the channel. SportsNet Houston has one of the highest monthly fees for sport channels in the United States. Due to this, other cable providers besides Comcast were unwilling to carry the network.
If the network is sold, DirectTV and AT&T would pay the sports teams directly for the ability to broadcast their games. Comcast would lose its ownership in the network.
SportsNet Houston is currently owned in part by:
- Comcast, 23%
- Houston Astros, 46%
- Houston Rockets, 30%
Comcast opposes the merger between the two companies to take ownership of the network. The company has been to court multiple times to maintain ownership of the network during the bankruptcy filing. If Comcast can prove that the change in ownership would cause irreparable harm to Comcast, that Comcast is likely to win an appeal, and public interest would benefit, Comcast could remain in ownership of the network for a longer period of time.
