Viamedia, the leading cross-media local advertising company, today filed a brief in opposition to Comcast’s September 2020 petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari in Viamedia’s antitrust lawsuit against Comcast. Comcast submitted its petition following the February 2020 decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit reinstating Viamedia’s suit (Case 18-2852).
Viamedia also issued the following statement:
“We just filed our brief in opposition to Comcast’s request that the U.S. Supreme Court review the careful decision of the Seventh Circuit appeals court. For decades, the universally beneficial industry practice has been to include all sellers of advertising in the regional cable TV Interconnects. Comcast upended this practice when it kicked Viamedia and Viamedia’s cable operator partners out of Interconnects that Comcast manages. The Seventh Circuit properly concluded that Viamedia had alleged a viable refusal-to-deal claim against Comcast and had marshalled sufficient evidence for trial on its separate claim based on Comcast’s ‘tying’ of ad representation to access to Comcast-controlled Interconnects. The appeals court adhered rigorously to U.S. Supreme Court precedents, decided no issue in conflict with any other federal appeals court, and broke no new antitrust ground. Pre-trial discovery is underway as the parties move ahead in the trial court. For all these reasons, Viamedia has argued that the Supreme Court should deny Comcast’s petition in its entirety.”
Last month Viamedia cited a brief filed by NCTA – The Internet & Television Association in support of Comcast’s petition as further validation of the importance of inclusive Interconnects. Viamedia did not comment on the other amicus briefs filed on Comcast’s behalf as they were effectively the same as those filed in the Seventh Circuit.
In September Viamedia commented on Comcast’s petition to the U.S. Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari, underscoring the importance of open Interconnects and citing as an example the New York City Interconnect which features a separate management team and board of directors and oversight designed to help ensure fair and competitive pricing, proper inventory allocation and full participation from all area cable operators.
In February the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit revived Viamedia’s $500 million antitrust claim against Comcast, remanding the case for jury trial. Viamedia commented on that decision, and provided a timeline of the case, on February 26.
Viamedia is represented in its lawsuit by Kellogg Hansen Todd Figel & Frederick PLLC.
About Viamedia
Headquartered in New York City with operational headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, Viamedia provides a comprehensive audience and impression-based local video cross-media advertising platform. As part of the platform, Viamedia has exclusive cable TV ad inventory from more than 60 Cable TV Distributors in 34 states across 76 DMAs, offering advertising on cable TV networks to more than 6,000 local, regional and national advertisers. Viamedia also offers those advertisers a complimentary suite of impression-based digital products including Viamedia’s proprietary QTT™ as well as OTT, mobile, display, email, search, and social, in those DMAs and beyond. Viamedia’s success is built on its proprietary software, people and processes. In June 2020, Viamedia launched #ChangeStartsRightHere, a grassroots campaign to foster positive conversations to help end racism. As part of the initiative, Viamedia has invited local business, minority leaders and law enforcement to submit spots about how they are working together to create positive change and a more inclusive future, which Viamedia will run free of charge across its nationwide footprint. For more information, please visit https://viamediatv.com and http://www.changestartsrighthere.com/.
For more information, please visit https://viamediatv.com.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201103005544/en/