STUDIOS TRY TO HALT RELEASE OF CABLE DISTRIBUTION PACTS

Several TV production companies, including CBS, Fox, Univision, and Disney, told a federal court in Washington that they will suffer "substantial harm" if their distribution agreements with Comcast and Time Warner Cable are disclosed publicly during the regulatory review of the two cable companies’ merger plans. In the court filing, the companies observed, "The FCC repeatedly has recognized that distribution agreements are entitled to the highest level of confidential treatment." Simultaneously, the two minority Republican FCC commissoners, Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly, expressed their opposition to the Democratic majority’s decision to allow third parties opposed to the merger to view the programming contracts. Said Pai: "Once a party has accessed confidential information, the cat cannot be put back in the bag. The harm is irreparable. A subsequent court ruling that the Commission erred in allowing such access is too little, too late."