Court Upholds FCC Extension Of Content Access Rule (CMCSA) (DTV) (VZ)

A federal appeals court upheld a Federal Communications Commission rule that forces cable companies to make the programming from properties that they own available to rivals on equal terms.

The FCC banned cable companies like Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ: CMCSA) from entering into exclusive deals with affiliated businesses and was first enacted in order to create a competitive environment, so that smaller cable companies, satellite television companies like DIRECTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and subscription television services from companies like Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) would have access to popular content, in order to compete with existing businesses.

The rule was set to expire in 2007 but the FCC decided to extend it for five years.